The news over recent weeks that the Euro is crumbling comes as a great relief to our island nation. Thank goodness we did not enter the Euro when we were under extreme pressure to do so just a few years ago. Poor old Greece has had to suffer the embarrassment and indecency of being bossed around by its European neighbours. Given our budget deficit is just as bad as Greece’s, there is no doubt that had we been in the Euro we would have faced the same indignity. It would do well to remember such things in the future, when we may face similar pressure to join the monetary union (if it lasts long enough) once the in-the-moment-obsessed media forget.
But the Greek crisis (and perhaps Ireland, Spain and Italy to follow) also provides a lesson as to the wider European project. One of the reasons why the Euro is doomed to failure is that its premise is ‘one size fits all’. We clearly know now (if we didn’t before) that this premise is flawed. The individual economic requirements from setting interest rates, maintaining growth, and controlling inflation are evidently very different from country to country. The only way that such an illogical union could work is if some countries compromise for the benefit of others. This is what has been happening since the Euro’s inception, but there comes a point when a compromise becomes too much. In a crisis, you find out who your friends are, or to put it another way, you find out how strong your friendships are. Last week’s statement that the other Euro nations would stand behind Greece has yet to be translated into real support. Even if there is some genuine support in the future, this will only represent another compromise. Ultimately the same problem exists with the wider political union.
The reason why we talk in terms of compromise is that every state in the European Union is self-interested. They will only act if it is in their interest to act. There is no true strength of friendship; there is no real union at all. The only way a union can come about is to dilute the independence of the individuals within the union so that the individuals do not have the capacity to make their own decisions. The masters of the European project understand this and that is why they have been slowly chipping away at each country’s independence to realise a true union- when the union’s interests become more important than those of the independent states that constitute it. Such an example would be the United States of America.
The Greek crisis shows us that no matter their efforts to emulate the USA, when it comes down to it, we are all interested in our own.
Long may it continue.
My hope is that Europe experiences further crises until we have a final climax that proves what the people want- the independence of their respective nations and the dignity that this provides.
But the Greek crisis (and perhaps Ireland, Spain and Italy to follow) also provides a lesson as to the wider European project. One of the reasons why the Euro is doomed to failure is that its premise is ‘one size fits all’. We clearly know now (if we didn’t before) that this premise is flawed. The individual economic requirements from setting interest rates, maintaining growth, and controlling inflation are evidently very different from country to country. The only way that such an illogical union could work is if some countries compromise for the benefit of others. This is what has been happening since the Euro’s inception, but there comes a point when a compromise becomes too much. In a crisis, you find out who your friends are, or to put it another way, you find out how strong your friendships are. Last week’s statement that the other Euro nations would stand behind Greece has yet to be translated into real support. Even if there is some genuine support in the future, this will only represent another compromise. Ultimately the same problem exists with the wider political union.
The reason why we talk in terms of compromise is that every state in the European Union is self-interested. They will only act if it is in their interest to act. There is no true strength of friendship; there is no real union at all. The only way a union can come about is to dilute the independence of the individuals within the union so that the individuals do not have the capacity to make their own decisions. The masters of the European project understand this and that is why they have been slowly chipping away at each country’s independence to realise a true union- when the union’s interests become more important than those of the independent states that constitute it. Such an example would be the United States of America.
The Greek crisis shows us that no matter their efforts to emulate the USA, when it comes down to it, we are all interested in our own.
Long may it continue.
My hope is that Europe experiences further crises until we have a final climax that proves what the people want- the independence of their respective nations and the dignity that this provides.
An interesting read. I would however revert you to Churchill’s famous 1946 Zurich speech calling for a federal United States of Europe with a common European citizenship. Admittedly, he did not expect the UK to join, but nevertheless, pretty embarrassing for (you) British eurosceptics (which I assume you are!?!)
ReplyDeleteAlso, something you may wish to reflect on during the election period is the fact that only one British PM brought the UK into the anteroom of the euro, the European Monetary System - Margaret Thatcher. The same person who agreed to the abolition of the national veto in the Single European Act. Two facts that are airbrushed out of Tory eurosceptic history these days....