During this year of megahappenings in Europe-the recently ended Winter Olympics in Albertville, France; the opening of Euro Disney 20 miles east of Paris; Expo `92 in Seville; the Floriade World Horticulture Exhibition in The Hague, the Netherlands; and the Summer Olympics in Barcelona-the most monumental happening virtually goes unnoticed. A new Europe is being born.
Let`s get into this megahappening with a three-part trivia question that`s not trivial:
– What is the European Community?
– Who belongs to the EC?
– Does the European Community have a flag, and, if so, what does it look like?
And now for the answers:
– The European Community, formerly known as the Common Market, completed a White Paper in 1985 that set forth some 300 legislative measures needed to establish a barrier-free single market where people, goods, services and capital could flow freely among the member countries by Dec. 31, 1992. Once established, the EC will in many ways become the United States of Europe.
– The EC has 12 members: Britain, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Their combined population is 340 million. Other countries will join in 1993 and beyond, with Austria, Sweden and Finland the next in line. The borders among EC member countries will be as open as the borders of American states.
– The EC`s flag consists of a circle of 12 gold stars on a blue field. It not only flies over the EC`s headquarters in Brussels and other buildings in Europe but appears on all sorts of souvenirs-from sweatshirts to laundry bags. And one more question for good measure: What does the EC mean to American travelers going to Europe?
While not really event-oriented in terms of fairs and games, the EC will mean an end to border controls among the 12 nations. Traveling from Spain to France by car or train will be as easy as traveling from Illinois to Wisconsin. The same will be true with flying. Once you`ve cleared passport control and customs in one EC country, you will have cleared them for all. The elimination of passport and customs checks will occur in Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Spain and Portugal in July. The remaining member countries are still studying the proposal.
Speed limits within the EC hopefully will be standardized; as you speed from Germany into France, you won`t have to pump your brakes.
The great disparity in value-added taxes among the countries will end: 15 percent will be the minimum VAT. Over five years for example, France has reduced its VAT to 18 percent from 33 percent.
Airlines and railroads will liberalize their operating policies, allowing for competition and lower fares but not for the chaotic deregulation the EC sees in the U.S. Under the plan, EC carriers will be able to choose their routes and set their fares within the 12 nations. But don`t expect U.S.-style fare wars. ”Liberalization” is the word European airlines use, not
”deregulation.” The EC still is hammering out operating rules for the European airlines, most of which are fully or partially nationally owned. The EC continues to work on a high-speed rail network that eventually will connect all major cities. Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Switzerland are all expanding their high-speed rail lines.
By the end of the 1990s, but as early as 1995, a common currency (ECUs-European Currency Units) will emerge, making it unnecessary for people to exchange money as they travel from country to country. It means the British will give up their pound, the French their franc, the Germans their mark and the Danes their krone.
One change is already in place. As visitors arrive at airports in the major European gateway cities, they will notice EC and non-EC passport control lines. The 12 countries already have a common passport, the first visible sign of the EC.
For anyone going to Europe now, however, it`s generally business as usual. While the dollar remains weak against European currencies, the state of the greenback doesn`t seem to be deterring travel across the Atlantic.
Trans-Atlantic air fares appear to be the key element in stimulating travel to Europe. ”A major competition is going on now among U.S. and European carriers,” said Michel Bouquier, chairman of the European Travel Commission. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, all relatively new players in the European air game, are investing $300 million to promote the trans-Atlantic market, he added.
Bouquier, who also is director general of the French Government Tourist Office, says he expects the American carriers to keep the pressure on for low fares throughout the year. ”Americans will have to shop around and pressure their travel agents for the best fares.”
Because of the Gulf War and the recession last year, European tour operators, car rental companies and hotels learned a lesson, notes Bouquier.
”They know they must keep rates as low as possible and offer good value for the dollar. Some are keeping their rates the same as last year. Others, such as hotels, are guaranteeing rates in dollars. This might be Europe`s most competitive year ever.
”Everything is more flexible,” says Bouquier, citing the variety of combinations available on the French Rail Pass. To better accommodate the needs of vacationers, French Rail now sells passes good for four days of travel within a month; four days of rail plus three days with a rental car within a month; four days of rail and one day of air in a month; or four days of rail, one day of air and three days of auto rental within a month.
Bouquier said countries are using creative marketing to make travel easier for visitors-special cards good for local transportation, museum entrance fees and even for meals and reduced lodging rates.
Value and affordability are two things that Bouquier says will encourage more travel to Europe. ”We are doing better than in 1990, with travel to Europe up by 25 percent to 30 percent so far this year,” he says.
With the advent of the EC, Bouquier says countries also are becoming more creative and cooperative in their promotional efforts.
The new concepts to which Bouquier refers include the creation of Euro-regions-two or three countries working together to promote tourism.
Bouquier cites the cooperation among the areas of Kent in England, Calais in France and Flanders in Belgium because of their proximity to the English Channel Tunnel, which is scheduled to open in June of 1993 and link Britain and the Continent. Alsace in France, Baden-Baden in Germany and Basel in Switzerland form another Euroregion. Belgium and the Netherlands also are comarketing themselves to travel agents, he says.
”We are looking at more and more cooperative operations now,” Bouquier says. ”The cards are different now, and countries must learn to play the game.”
Besides the unity generated by the EC, non-members-Norway, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and Austria-are linked through the European Free Trade Association that binds the remainder of the Western European nations. And before too many years pass, the Western European countries will have to develop a strategy on the role Eastern European countries will play in this new open continent.
Meanwhile, the EC countries are dotting i`s and crossing t`s on myriad standards that will bind 12 nations accustomed for centuries to doing things their own way.
The effort to standardize the contents of foods and other necessities of life that flow among the EC nations cause some to fear that a sameness eventually will obliterate Europe`s rich culinary diversity.
”Maybe you will find a European brie under one brand, but you also will find the real camembert,” Bouquier says. ”People will compete for their individual products. No way will Europe become homogeneous.”
Who, indeed, could imagine a common EC pasta or pate?
As the EC moves closer to its common goals, Europeans seem to become more protective of their heritage, including languages.
Bouquier notes that languages such as Catalan in Spain and Gaelic in Ireland and Scotland are coming back as people resist the move to homogeneity. ”If countries don`t fight for their heritage, it will disappear in unity. That`s a nightmare,” says Bouquier, a true Frenchman.
As all the EC pieces fall into place, Europe will become an easier place to visit. The uniformity certainly will make life more pleasant for tourists who like to travel from country to country but get befuddled when they switch from pounds to francs to lira to marks.
To have the option of flying from country to country without paying today`s hefty fares will be a big plus.
For moving from country to country or capital to capital, nothing will beat the ever-expanding network of high-speed trains. And for travel flexibility, a combination rail/drive pass makes it possible to combine the two best ways to get around Europe.
The EC will have to be cautious not to overlegislate sameness. What`s so great about traveling from country to country is experiencing cultural differences.
Celebrate a new Europe, but also celebrate the differences. Long may they live.
