My somewhat jaundiced and cynical view of what Juncker’s selection as President of the European Commission and Cameron’s defeat means. Cameron failed in his attempt to block the appointment of Juncker, but the EU failed in achieving a consensus.
In fact the French and the Germans have made it clear that the UK is not necessary in their definition of a European consensus.
The ultimate aim of the European Project is the creation of a United States of Europe where Brussels maps to Washington. This will require each member state to finally give up any semblance of sovereignty to the bureaucracy in Brussels and to the European parliament. A United States of Europe will favour the population-rich central part of Europe. That Germany and France endorse this goal is all too clear because they believe it will effectively be the start of the Fourth Reich of a Holy Franco-German Empire. The southern Europe states go along because they see greater economic benefit for themselves in being vassals and being supported by their masters in the richer north. The far northern states of Europe are small and just do not have the population and market size for their own home markets to be self-sufficient or to allow them much growth. They need the large markets of central and southern Europe to fuel their own growth. So they go along with the Project and dig their little heels in where they can.
The UK is the odd man out. While the UK has some clout due to its population, the Project is well aware that the UK – as it is – values its own sovereignty so high that its continued membership is entirely inconsistent with the aim of creating a United States of Europe. Better for a UK – if it stays united – to leave the EU than that it subverts the whole concept by remaining a member. The French and Germans would love to see the Balkanisation of the UK and an independent Scotland (perhaps followed by an independent Northern Ireland and an independent Wales). That would allow the fractured bits of the UK to stay within the EU but without the strength to jeopardise the Project. For an independent Scotland or Wales, ceding all power to Brussels rather than to London would not be all that bad. Moreover the markets of the fractured UK countries would then remain available to the EU but each of the new countries would have to accept the inevitability of the Fourth Reich.
It should be fairly obvious that while I would like the EU to remain as a free trade and free movement of labour area, any political union must come in a natural way and cannot be forced as Brussels and the Franco-German alliance are trying to do. If true economic union is achieved then political union across country boundaries becomes almost inevitable and a non-issue. Economic pressures have to be addressed first. Opening the political valve across an economic boundary is best done when pressures have equalised.
And yet the member states of the EU have already ceded many of their powers to the bloated Brussels bureaucrats. And inevitably their practices reduce to the lowest common behaviour. Rather than promoting best practices the EU enshrines the worst common practices. The EU parliament is about the most undemocratic institution there is where the members are not accountable to their constituencies, follow party guidelines and ultimately represent only themselves.
Just imagine the Canadians or the Mexicans having to follow bureaucratic diktats from Washington.
Tags: Fourth Reich, Holy Franco-German Empire, United States of Europe
The k2p blog 
June 28, 2014 at 1:53 pm
“Just imagine the Canadians or the Mexicans having to follow bureaucratic diktats from Washington.”
Chances of that are remote. Please allow a more apt metaphor. “Just imagine Tennesseans or Alabamans having to follow bureaucratic diktats from Washington.” There. That’s better.
I watch the slow creep of the EU with interest even though I’m not personally invested because it mirrors what has happened in the Unites States and many people are not 100% happy at that result. Since the Civil War, states’ rights have been eroded through a corrupt interpretation of the Commerce Clause in our Constitution. What was supposed to be a loose federation of states where “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” seems to have been completely turned on its head.
Of course, it’s not all bad; we’ve achieved a great deal by being so closely united. But to have Washington dictate to us how we live, how we interact, how we do business, and what we must teach our kids is a tough pill to swallow.
Please note that I’m not a complete apologist for The South. The Southern states hitched their wagon to the ungodly practice of slavery and paid dearly for it. That’s a shame because the ultimate price was states’ rights.