Mo Mowlam: We need a new generation of leaders in Europe

Despite the shock of the results of the French and Dutch referenda on the European constitution, I believe that this might have been the wake-up call that Europe needed. Firstly it shocked the political establishment that has been taking the people for granted for too long in running an undemocratic Europe. Secondly I hope we will now have the debate about Europe that is essential for people to see its centrality to their lives.

Despite the shock of the results of the French and Dutch referenda on the European constitution, I believe that this might have been the wake-up call that Europe needed. Firstly it shocked the political establishment that has been taking the people for granted for too long in running an undemocratic Europe. Secondly I hope we will now have the debate about Europe that is essential for people to see its centrality to their lives.

It is very unusual in political debate that issues of geopolitics are discussed, but now is the moment that we should. There are far more important issues to look at than whether the effect of this referendum will be Tony Blair going sooner or later, for we are now reaching a point in history where we can see clearly a post-Cold War world and the true impact of globalisation.

It is becoming increasingly clear that we are going to see a shift in the economic power balance throughout the world. China and India are emerging as significant economic players. They both have an educated middle class and they both have access to vast amounts of cheap labour.

The United States has already clearly identified a major threat to its interests and that is oil. It is quite obvious, whatever the denials, that the US was in no small measure motivated by the vast oil reserves of Iraq when it invaded that unfortunate country.But it can also be seen in other US foreign policy positions.

Their presence in Uzbekistan, under the cover of the "war on terror", puts them close to the vast hydrocarbon resources of Central Asia. Hence their tolerance of the brutal dictator there, President Karimov.

This aggressive posturing by the United States obviously has implications with regard to how Russia will behave, under its increasingly centralising President Putin. It is also a warning to China that the United States is determined to look after its economic needs, and is prepared to back up those needs militarily if necessary.

Against this backdrop, Europe suddenly decides to put itself into crisis by failing to agree on a new constitution. We need to move quickly to resolve our differences so that Europe can act as one in a world of an increasing number of power blocs which could threaten our national interests.

It is no longer good enough to go along with the old Nato thinking that if we stick closely to the US it will look after us. It is quite clear that with the collapse of communism this kind of thinking is no longer relevant. America has different interests to Europe; their government serves different people who have a different view of the world. Europeans have got to realise that we all hang together if we are going to protect our interests in an increasingly complex and dangerous world, where both the economic and political climates are going to become more difficult.

But a great deal of responsibility for trying to achieve this lies with our political elites which have got to sort out the mess of the crashing constitution. One of the first lessons they should learn is that Europe has got to be more democratic. The meddling bureaucracy of the seemingly unaccountable European Commission has done a huge amount of damage to the EU in the eyes of many people.

People are suspicious of its motives, and with its lack of transparency it can allow any number of different interpretations of their motives. I think this was clearly demonstrated in the different reactions to the constitution, where the French felt it was too Anglo Saxon, and we thought it was too French.

Europe also desperately needs a mechanism with which it can agree on foreign policy; this is more important than any other aspect of its functions. The unedifying squabbling that we saw in the run-up to the Iraq war should never again repeat itself. We need to find a way to resolve our differences before we get on a public world stage. Otherwise it will always be possible for other countries to divide and rule.

There is an awful lot at stake as Europe seeks to resolve the problems thrown up by the collapse of the constitution. I fear, however, that we are not making a good start; the sudden Franco-German summit is not encouraging as it shows that both these countries will probably try to have more of a past which has been rejected, and not look to a new beginning.

But No 10 seems to have learnt very little as it tries to spin that the referenda results are showing that is going our way in Europe. This is a time for modest reflection all round, as we try to tease a solution during the British EU presidency, not a time for covert and overt battles to break out between Britain and France.

What is also unfortunate is that three of the key players, Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schröder, are all weakened leaders in their own countries. It is a time for self-confident leaders who have the support of their people, because the resolution of this problem is going to require all the people of Europe to have to face up to some unpalatable truths.

The writer was Northern Ireland Secretary and a member of the Cabinet, 1997-2001