THESE are crucial times for theEuropean Union as it prepares tojump the next hurdle of ratifying

the reform treaty. Relations with some key partners are

reaching a critical stage. Russia and theUS will soon have new presidents andChina is activating its global role.

Yet the debate on Europe’s global roleremains curiously introverted, evenwilfully ignorant, about how thedynamics of world politics are changing.

The European Security Strategy of2003 talked of “an effective multilateralliberal world order”. This is oftendiscussed as if it were something the EUcould impose.

The debate about the EuropeanNeighbourhood Policy is a case in point.More often than not discussion is about this or that aspect of the Union’sown approach.

It never seems to be doubted, even fora minute, that the “neighbourhood” inquestion is necessarily in agreement withthe Union’s ideals, or the application ofits “soft” power in the region.

In retrospect, the post-Cold War gave

Europe an easy run. The collapse of theSoviet Union was a ‘unipolar moment’not only for the US but for all actorswith a strong stake in a liberal worldorder, the EU included.

But realising the liberal agenda maynow start to become a great deal trickierand contentious.

The debate has only just started aboutthe rise of economically successful butpolitically authoritarian powers, oncedismissed as an impossibility, or at least unsustainable.

But we may be approaching an erawhere the success of this model mayerode the hegemony of Westernliberalism beyond repair.

Russia increasingly thumbs its nose at‘European values’. In Africa, China hascut the ground away from the EUstrategy of political conditionality byengaging itself in significantdevelopment programmes with no overtpolitical strings attached at all.

Even the US has managed to inflict considerable damage onmultilateralism and liberal values with its relentless, often ham-fisted, ‘war on terror’.

Contrary to received wisdom within the EU, it might no longer be up to the Union to make its global role effective– if we mean by that the ability to preserve and develop a more liberal world order in the future. The EU may well be increasingly marginalised with its normative approach tointernational relations.

That does not, however, mean that theEU will have to remain powerless in thefuture, only that there will be no easy fixes.

In essence, the Union has a three-waypath: enlarge, engage and consolidate.Meanwhile some simple realities need tobe faced.

It is, for instance, obvious that the EU simply cannot afford to lose bothTurkey and Russia. This impliesresponding unequivocally and positivelyto requests for closer association andmembership (with Turkey, perhaps alsowith Ukraine).

And it means responding positively torequests for dialogue and partnership,which means we must listen attentivelyto Russia.

Most of the things the Russians will be telling the Union will be what itdoes not want to hear. The EU mustlearn to walk the fine line betweencultivating pragmatic co-operation anddefending, even promoting, its corevalues vis-à-vis Russia. So far it hasfailed to do this.

The Union must also consolidate itsefforts if it is to champion its ideas in anincreasingly competitive globalenvironment. It must also consolidate ajoint vision with other, potentially like-minded, actors in the world.

The US under the next administrationis of course a self-evident candidate.

By engaging countries like India andBrazil the EU has a chance toconsolidate not only its own global rolebut also to sustain its own liberal idealsin the world.

8 – 14 NOVEMBER 2007 9

Editor: Dana Spinant Deputy Editor: Tim KingReporters: Judith CrosbieLorraine Mallinder

Emily SmithSimon TaylorToby Vogel

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There’s a spy on your desktop

� Hiski Haukkala is a researcher at the Finnish Institute ofInternational Affairs, Helsinki.

By Hiski Haukkala

EVEN before the smoke from theMicrosoft decision has cleared, anew furore is brewing over

Google’s €2.15 billion acquisition ofDoubleClick, the world’s biggest onlinegraphic advertiser.

DoubleClick is estimated to reachsome 80-85% of global web users; themerger announcement drove Googleshares to an all-time high.

Google is now under investigation bycompetition authorities on both sides ofthe Atlantic. The proposed merger hasimplications both for competition and,more seriously, for individual privacy.

Google’s expansion has in part comethrough launching new services, such asits planned ‘Weaver’ health informationstorage program, about which no-onecan legitimately complain.

The rest comes from acquisitions suchas that of YouTube last year, for €1.14bn,and now DoubleClick; both touch theexploitation of personal data, aboutwhich the European Commission hasbeen commendably zealous.

Under Article 29 of the 1995framework directive, a working partywas established to ensure personal datais not abused, and under the 2002directive on electronic communications,this body can investigate possibleinfringements. It recently wrote toGoogle asking it to explain why itretains users’ web history data for up totwo years.

The response is as suspiciously vagueas its privacy policy, which states: “Wemay combine personal informationcollected from you with informationfrom other Google services or thirdparties to provide a better userexperience.” Such data will be used for“good reasons”.

Meaning what, exactly? Does a ‘pledge’not to use the data for profile-makingand other ‘sly’ commercial practicesreally cut it? Is it the same as not doingevil? Google obviously believes so.

“Google uses cookies and othertechnologies to enhance your onlineexperience and to learn about how youuse Google services in order to improve

the quality of our services,” consumersare reassured.

As most people now know, cookies arefiles sent to your computer when youvisit a website; they ensure you are

recognised when you come back. It is possible, technically, to reset

the browser to refuse all such invisibleguests. In practice, many websitefeatures or services then do not work properly.

For the web advertising business, thetechnology is crucial. DoubleClickcookies track down user’s InternetProtocol addresses and visited sites and

target ads based on their interests. It has been prodigiously successful in

building up a huge database, its back-end ad-server linking up advertisingagencies, marketing companies andweb-site publishers.

DoubleClick’s ‘Boomerang forAdvertisers, Marketers and Agencies’service will, typically, “tag” anyonevisiting particular sites but not buyinganything. When the user moves on tovisit a website where DoubleClick’sclient has placed an advertisement, he orshe will be recognised via the so-calleddart cookie and offered a targeted ad or promotion.

Combined with Google’s own vastdatabase, the system could exploitinformation about millions of websurfers to wipe the floor with thecompetition. Such a plethora of detailedinformation can also leak, albeitunintentionally, to third sources.

Google says it has shown “good will”by offering consumers an opt-out. In reality, how many will realise what is at stake, or take effective action tostop their data from being collected and stored?

The European consumers’organisation (BEUC) has expressedserious concerns about the risk of thepending DoubleClick merger creating anon-line advertising monopoly. It alsoargues that, since Google’s andDoubleClick’s databases are considered“complementary”, their combinationcould violate user privacy (eg, bycreating detailed portraits of users).

The European Commission is likely totake these concerns very seriously. It hasalready announced it is extending thedeadline for its DoubleClick takeoverinquiry to 13 November. A formalinvestigation now looks probable andwith it a more serious examination ofhow far computers are beingprogrammed to watch us.

� Spyros Pappas is an international lawyer based inBrussels. He was director-general for information in theEuropean Commission to 1995. Additional research andanalysis by Dr Katerina Dimitrakopoulou.

By Spyros Pappas

Double take? Data privacy watchdogs are concerned by Google’s plans to take over internet advertisingtracker DoubleClick/REUTERS

Why the EU must enlarge, engage and consolidate