A divided Union

This week the economist has a survey of the EU. Although much of it is only available to subscribers this article is free view. It asks whether the problems in the EU could be terminal. I particularly liked this paragraph: European federalists—the heirs to Monnet and Schuman—are well aware of these problems. Some believe that a new impetus for European unity can be provided by trying to build up the EU into a new superpower—a global force that can equal the United States. But so far any moves in that direction have served only to deepen divisions within the EU, in particular over attitudes to America. In a nutshell, the key source of much of the problems. The federalists think they work in a fairground, their approach to policy "Scream if you want to go faster". They haven't seen a problem yet that more integration will not solve. The problem is that the citizens of Europe are not waving but drowning.