EU EUcked?
With both the French and the Dutch throwing their toys out of the Euro-nannies Euro-pram about being dictated to by unelected Eurocrats, Gerhard Schroeder flying to Luxemburg for "crisis" talks, the Guardian's Economic Editor calling for the scrapping of the Euro and those pesky Anglo-Saxon capitalist Brits set to take over the presidency, one might be forgiven for assuming that the shoddy super-statist idealism that has been imposed on the whole project has finally been exposed.
Has it? Well, er no. The problem with the whole grandiose EU federal super-state idea has always been that it's been enforced rather than grown. To this extent, the diverse problems the project faces today reflect local grudges rather than a broader philosophical distaste for a federalised Europe. I say 'local', using the EU term, but what I really mean of course is national. National, when it doesn't refer to the EU super-state, is, of course, a rather dirty word nowadays.
So, what now? There are several paths open to the EUtopians, but I personally expect them to try to convince us that Europe as a continent cannot possibly function without the EU - as if the existential forces of trans-national bureaucracy are the binding particles of a geographical landmass that has existed since before the dawn of tax. Or maybe they'll come clean and admit that they've got superpower penis-envy of the Americans. Time will tell.
Has it? Well, er no. The problem with the whole grandiose EU federal super-state idea has always been that it's been enforced rather than grown. To this extent, the diverse problems the project faces today reflect local grudges rather than a broader philosophical distaste for a federalised Europe. I say 'local', using the EU term, but what I really mean of course is national. National, when it doesn't refer to the EU super-state, is, of course, a rather dirty word nowadays.
So, what now? There are several paths open to the EUtopians, but I personally expect them to try to convince us that Europe as a continent cannot possibly function without the EU - as if the existential forces of trans-national bureaucracy are the binding particles of a geographical landmass that has existed since before the dawn of tax. Or maybe they'll come clean and admit that they've got superpower penis-envy of the Americans. Time will tell.
Let's all move to Scotland, and encourage it to declare independence!
Posted by
Matt |
Thu Jun 02, 05:36:00 pm