Berlin is now the seat of European power, the only place that can
possibly unravel the crisis. And Berlin will be the construction site
for another stage of European power, for, as Ms. Merkel said a few days
ago, only a more powerful continent will prevent a further financial
slide.
“We need more Europe,” she said. “We need not just a currency union; we also need a so-called fiscal union, more common budget policies. And we need above all a political union.”
This may be right, but Germans don’t understand how this sounds when it comes from Berlin – for Berlin still does not really believe it wields the power.
Until the crisis became terminal, German leaders had assumed that theirs could become the world’s second-largest export nation, turning the lesser nations of Europe into economic colonies entirely dependent on Germany’s finances – without taking on the great responsibilities that come with great power.
I spend a lot of time, in writing for North Americans, clarifying the difference between the euro zone (monetary, 17 countries), the European Economic Area (trade, 30 countries), the European Union (political, 27 countries), the Council of Europe (legal, 47 countries) and the border-free Schengen Area (26 countries) – all of which, by the way, were mainly created by conservative governments and generally opposed by the left.
Only the first of these is in crisis. The rest remain robust. The free movement of trade and people between borders, the pooling of legal and administrative standards – these are functioning better than ever and, as Ms. Merkel noted, will have to become even more substantial if the currency crisis is to be resolved.
Read more: All roads lead to Berlin - The Globe and Mail
“We need more Europe,” she said. “We need not just a currency union; we also need a so-called fiscal union, more common budget policies. And we need above all a political union.”
This may be right, but Germans don’t understand how this sounds when it comes from Berlin – for Berlin still does not really believe it wields the power.
Until the crisis became terminal, German leaders had assumed that theirs could become the world’s second-largest export nation, turning the lesser nations of Europe into economic colonies entirely dependent on Germany’s finances – without taking on the great responsibilities that come with great power.
I spend a lot of time, in writing for North Americans, clarifying the difference between the euro zone (monetary, 17 countries), the European Economic Area (trade, 30 countries), the European Union (political, 27 countries), the Council of Europe (legal, 47 countries) and the border-free Schengen Area (26 countries) – all of which, by the way, were mainly created by conservative governments and generally opposed by the left.
Only the first of these is in crisis. The rest remain robust. The free movement of trade and people between borders, the pooling of legal and administrative standards – these are functioning better than ever and, as Ms. Merkel noted, will have to become even more substantial if the currency crisis is to be resolved.
Read more: All roads lead to Berlin - The Globe and Mail
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