Should the European Union end?

[Polaris]

Do you so happen to have that book, The United States of Europe? It's sitting in my bookshelf from my days of study in America.

[ManMachine]

The question is pretty clear:

Should the EU end? And why/why not?

What's the best option? - Complete federalism, keeping the EU as it is with it's current characteristics or abolishing it completely?

This poll is aimed at Europeans but Americans are free to answer as long as you know enough of the EU's composition, powers and current affairs

I'm a euro skeptical so I'll go with 'yes'.

The forerunner for the EU, the Common Market in the 1970s, was originally a trade area set up to combat US protectionism that stifled trade in Europe in the years following WWII, by creating market conditions that were favourable for US exports to the EU but unfavourable for EU imports into the US.

So the EU set up its own market, the European Common Market. This has been running since the 70s, to dismantle it now would be devastating from some countries that rely heavily on imports, ironically, those countries that are facing problems now would be much worse off. At least now they have some protection. Of course having never adopted the Euro in the UK we don't have the problems of struggling to establish some kind of economic parity between wealthy member states like Germany and France and the poorer member states like Greece and Ireland, but still get the advantages of trading throughout the Eurozone. I suggest we do away with the single currency but maintain the trade links internal to the EU.

MM

[Anomalocaris]

I suggest we do away with the single currency but maintain the trade links internal to the EU.

Loss of the common currency means the loss to europe's of the so called exorbitant privilege conferred by having one of the two reserve currencies of the world. As a result Europe would become much more susceptible to balance of payment crisis as it is forced to conduct all international trade in a foreign currency with the rest of the world. Since the European economy would represent increasingly small percentage of the world economy, external trade with non-European nations would become ever more important. The loss of exorbitant privilege would make make europe economically ever more vulnerable.

[Dystopia]

Honestly the idea of the USE (united states of europe) sounds good at first, but I find it almost impossible to achieve without the people's consent. Most europeans refuse federalism, not all european States are even a part of the EU.

I prefer a reform because I recognize some advantages we have.

[Anomalocaris]

I think Germany is already moving closer to Russia. When Germany and Russia begin to act cooperatively in the international stage, as I believe they inevitably will if the EU begins to look like it might fall apart as a cohesive force in the international stage, people of European states, particular those in east and Southern Europe, will see there are worse things than losing autonomy and unique identities to faceless bureaucrats in Brussels.

[Dystopia]

I think Germany is already moving closer to Russia. When Germany and Russia begin to act cooperatively in the international stage, as I believe they inevitably will if the EU begins to look like it might fall apart as a cohesive force in the international stage, people of European states, particular those in east and Southern Europe, will see there are worse things than losing autonomy and unique identities to faceless bureaucrats in Brussels.

True, I live in one of those southern countries, and as much as I dislike the EU idea I can acknowledge we can't get out just now, not until we have a stable economy, and that will take a very long time

[ManMachine]

I suggest we do away with the single currency but maintain the trade links internal to the EU.

Loss of the common currency means the loss to europe's of the so called exorbitant privilege conferred by having one of the two reserve currencies of the world. As a result Europe would become much more susceptible to balance of payment crisis as it is forced to conduct all international trade in a foreign currency with the rest of the world. Since the European economy would represent increasingly small percentage of the world economy, external trade with non-European nations would become ever more important. The loss of exorbitant privilege would make make europe economically ever more vulnerable.

You could ringfence exchange rates within Europe, which is effectively what they did in the 70s and still maintain sovereign control over individual currencies. It's not as effective but it provided the platform for the Euro, plus any struggling member states would not drag down the entire currency, as we have seen recently.

MM

[ccapehart1980]

i like to refer to the EU as the Union of Snobs