Orchestrated EU

Musings on a Night with the Orchestra, 3rd February 2009

The other evening my wife and I went to a local College to listen to a New Year’s Concert given by the Borough Orchestra. But even though it was a night off, I could not help but see the similarity between that wonderful orchestra and the rationale of the European Union.

What both the EU and the Orchestra do is to bring together different people with different skills with the aim of creating a wonderful result. In other words a result better than the sum of the parts. Thus one violinist or trumpet player can entertain you; his or her contribution can be greatly enhanced by playing in the orchestra. And this is true of the European Union too, as individual countries, even with a great history, are contributing and benefiting much more by working together than they ever did or could have done by themselves.

And looking at the members of the orchestra who gave such a magnificent performance I also could not help noticing that there was no discrimination as to gender or age and no one was expected to work harder or longer than any other. And that reminded me that although the EU has a strong economic theme it also attempts to ensure a level playing field. It is for that reason that rules to protect workers and consumers are brought in for all the 27 countries, to both protect from harm but also to prevent one country or region trying to profit from unfair work practices or unacceptable quality levels.

For the record, the concert was of music from old Vienna, performed by British musicians to the great enjoyment of a British audience. It concluded with the Radetsky March celebrating the co-operation between Poland and Austria in lifting the Turk’s siege of Vienna. I dream of the day when we British will cheer the achievements of the EU.

Peter Valentine