What are European values?

The larger the EU becomes, the more important it is for the people who live in it to realise that their union has been built on common values. So I am delighted that the Berlin declaration, issued at the special EU summit marking the union's 50th birthday, stresses European values and principles.

In its 50 years of history, the union has achieved nothing more magnificent than enlargement, which has helped to spread democracy, stability, security and prosperity across most of the continent. Enlargement is not only good for the countries that have joined the union (22, including East Germany), but also for those already in it. Economically, enlargement creates a bigger market and allows more economic specialisation, encouraging economic growth. Strategically, it gives the union more weight in the world.

I hope the EU keeps its doors open, and one day embraces the Western Balkans and Turkey, and perhaps even Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus, when those countries are ready. But enlargement does bring problems, which we are beginning to see.

First, the political culture of some of the recent arrivals leaves much to be desired. Poland and Slovakia are free and democratic countries. But some senior figures in the parties that govern them - as in some other central European states - appear to lack democratic (as opposed to demagogic) instincts. The purging of civil servants who do not toe the party line, the installation of unqualified party loyalists in key state agencies and companies, and the withdrawal of funding from independent-minded NGOs, all suggest that ministers do not always appreciate the value of a pluralistic civil society. On the top of that, much of the region suffers from inadequate criminal justice and severe corruption. However, the governance of these countries is more likely to improve if they are inside the union - and subject to its rules - than outside.

Second, the union now contains countries that are geographically distant from one another, and which have experienced very different histories. To some extent geography determines interests. Historical experience also shapes perceptions of national self-interest. Thus in a broader union it may become harder for the member-states forge common policies and approaches.

For example, the recent row over missile defence has shown how differently countries may react to the rise of Russian authoritarianism. When a Russian general threatened to point missiles at the Czechs and the Poles, on account of their willingness to install American missile defence systems, those member-states that had been under the Soviet thumb felt alarmed and were sympathetic. However, countries more distant from Russia do not view it as a threat. The German foreign minister did not express solidarity with the Czech Republic and Poland, but instead blamed America for the row, saying it should have consulted the Russians more about missile defence.

The peoples at one end of the European continent may feel very different to those at the other end. When Ukraine experienced its "orange revolution", those in Poland and the Baltic states felt directly involved. Spaniards, so much further away and more focused on north Africa, did not. A lot of people in western Europe feel little kinship with Bulgaria and Romania, which is one reason why most west European governments have limited the right to work of Bulgarians and Romanians.

Too much enlargement, too quickly, may weaken the "glue" - the sense of community - that holds the EU together. The union has been built on the principles of the free movement of goods, services, labour and capital; of equal rights for all citizens before European law; of equality among the member-states; and of significant financial transfers from richer regions to poorer ones. But if one lot of Europeans thinks it has little in common with people in other parts of the union, some EU policies will be hard to sustain.

Some federalists would argue that enlargement is already turning the EU into little more than an "Anglo-Saxon" free trade area, with weak political institutions. It is true that few of the 27 governments favour the traditional federalist agenda of building an ever-closer union through the creation of strong supranational institutions. Perhaps Belgians and Luxembourgers think that way, as do some Germans, Italians and Dutch.

But these days most European countries take an "instrumental" view of the union. They see it less as a noble cause that requires emotional commitment, and more as a tool that helps national governments to deliver benefits - a single market, action against global warming, influence over the European neighbourhood - that no single country can achieve on its own.

Writing as a pragmatic Brit, I am relatively relaxed about this change. But I also believe that most inhabitants of our continent do aspire to similar values. If they are made aware of that fact, they will feel more solidarity towards their fellow citizens, and the EU will function more smoothly. Hence the value of the Berlin declaration.

In contrast to Timothy Garton Ash, I think there are such things as European values, rather than simply western or universal values. Most European values are the same as those held by Americans and people in many other parts of the world. But in three areas they are somewhat different.

Europeans values are more social: Americans are more suspicious of the state, of trade unions, of taxation and of equality. Thus the Berlin declaration mentions solidarity as a European principle. European values are also more secular and liberal: some though not all Americans have a different take on issues such as the death penalty, gun control, abortion and embryo research. And finally, Europeans tend to support the idea of a rules-based system of global governance, and strong international institutions. Many right-wing Americans do not want any constraint on their freedom to act they way they want, when they want. As it celebrates its 50th birthday, Europe should congratulate itself on its achievements, such as enlargement (and the euro) - and be proud of its values.