At a dinner in Brussels on Thursday, the leaders of the European Union will choose the first President of the European Council. The signs are that they will vote for Herbert Van Rompuy, the prime minister of Belgium and - as we reveal today - a committed believer in just the sort of European federalism that the people of Britain loathe. Mr Van Rompuy is the architect of his party's manifesto, which calls for the abolition of "national symbols'' in favour of EU licence plates, identity cards, sports events - and the imposition of a European anthem, Beethoven's Ode to Joy, ripped out of its proper setting in his Ninth Symphony. Britain thought it had won the battle over the national anthem when the compulsory singing of the Ode was removed from the draft constitution. But, with Mr Van Rompuy installed in this new office, we can expect it to form part of a massive extension of the presence of the EU in our town halls, schools and at sporting events.
The European elite claim not to understand why Britain, more than any other country, objects to the loss of national symbols. But, in fact, their determination to erase these symbols proves that they grasp their innate power. The gradual loss of our flag, national anthem and even licence plates matters as much as the loss of veto power under the Lisbon Treaty, for it is partly thanks to the splendidly robust symbols of British identity that we have acquired our unique character.
The manipulation of symbols supported by Mr Van Rompuy offends supporters as well as opponents of Britain's membership of the European Union. This sort of sneakiness is one reason the TaxPayers' Alliance is attempting to stage a "Great Debate'' in British public life about the merits of staying in the EU. This newspaper has been a supporter of Britain's membership - and it is now time that voters were given a proper chance to debate both the insidious "symbol creep'' of the federalists and the constitutional niceties of the Lisbon Treaty.
When the role of the new President of the European Council was being discussed, there was anxiety that the job would go to someone who behaved as if he were actually President of Europe. Much better, said some commentators, that it should go to a nondescript compromise candidate unknown outside Benelux. But, as Pieter Van Clippe of the Open Europe think tank points out, such a man may also be a typical federalist who "can be relied upon to quietly make sure that the EU gets more and more powers, with less and less say for voters''. That is a description of Mr Van Rompuy. We trust that Gordon Brown will not support his candidacy on Thursday.
