Anyone there?

The world is too complex and dangerous for Europe to have 27 separate heads, writes the International Herald Tribune. It is time to approve the Lisbon Treaty.

International Herald Tribune

In a fit of frustration with America’s allies, Henry Kissinger once famously asked: “If I want to call Europe, who do I call?” The question is making the rounds on the Continent these days, as Europe’s leaders struggle — and fail — to come up with a common strategy to deal with a gas war between Russia and Ukraine, Israel’s invasion of Gaza and the global economic meltdown.

Formally, the number to call would be that of the president of the European Union. But as it happens, the current occupant of the six-month rotating seat is the Czech Republic — a country which does not use the euro as its currency and whose president refuses to fly the EU flag or to sign the Lisbon Treaty, the latest effort at streamlining the Union.

That’s no way to run a Union. Creating the post of EU president — who would serve for 30 months, along with an EU foreign minister — is a strong reason all EU members should press the Irish and Czechs, the last holdouts, to promptly approve the Lisbon Treaty. … The world is too complex, dangerous and unpredictable for a continent with Europe’s wealth, wisdom and potential power to continue to sit by 27 separate phones.