For several weeks there has been ongoing debates to whether Greece will finally default and the implications that this would bear. It seems that so many other European countries are so heavily involved in Greece such as Italy, Spain and Portugal that the repercussions could be immense. Personally I feel that the collapse, if it happens, would send a domino effect across Europe leading to several other countries being forced to default.
(http://de.toonpool.com/cartoons/Greece%20economic%20crisis_74175)
But the question in my opinion is whether this disastrous news could actually be the beginning of real change for the better. For more than 60 years, Europe has been plagued with the bureaucracy that the EU has forced upon its members. Perhaps the EU wasn’t/isn’t such a great idea as many ministers have tried to convince its citizens. I will not bore you with the reasons why the EU was meant to be so amazing but rather direct you to a different union such as NAFTA (North American Trade Agreement), which creates the same sort of linkage between countries without having to force the countries involved to suffer, i.e. bail it out, when one of its members has a crisis.
(http://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/summit%20confrence%20greece_133590)
Why the EU has tried to create one country out of all its members stipulating that trade would be impossible without this is beyond me when the example of NAFTA exists. Of course the breakdown of the EU is rather more complicated than just one country defaulting. In my view the creation of the EU was to try and build a super state that could rival China and the USA but furthermore the exit clause of the EU does not exist meaning this eventuality was never considered or more cynically an exit was never to be tolerated.
Love the cartoons - though remember to include a caption saying where they came from. The artists deserve recognition!
ReplyDeleteSome interesting observations. Re NAFTA, can you really compare it with the EU when the US and Canada form a natural 'market' given their shared language? The whole point about the EU is that is an amalgam of many different cultures and languages which give it its diversity and strength. But it also needs some mechanism to draw those disparate parts together. In war time, it was opposition to Germany and Mussolini. Now it's the desire to reap the business benefits of a landmass of 250m people. Making money is what should be driving economic union. Unfortunately it's got muddied with political ambitions. NAFTA, so far as I know, doesn't bother itself with such things.
I take on board your comments but i feel the reason most 'textbooks' give to why the eu was formed was not sharing of cultures but rather preventing the member states from going to war. The eu was of course created shortly after world war 2 and in my opinion to stop germany from attacking france (again!). I feel NAFTA is just cleaner as it seems to focus heavily on just trading which in my view would benefit the EU much more than having political debates continuously.
ReplyDeleteWell, NAFTA includes Mexico which has a drastically different culture than the US or Canada. Sort of like the difference between the club Med countries and the Northern European countries. In this regard, the makeup of NAFTA is similar to the EU.
ReplyDeleteAlso, since the UK and France are nuclear powers and given the fact that Europe is a de facto US protectorate under NATO and the European Command division of the US military - future European war is a joke.
The EU need not be a political union. This is about control.