Europe is hanging by a thread by Will Hutton
The European Union today is a bit like a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Tom has run over the cliff edge chasing Jerry and his legs are still pumping furiously in thin air; he's yet to plummet to earth to meet some grizzly end. The EU has gone over the cliff edge, its legs are still pumping, but there's no realisation among its leaders or the wider public that a vertiginous plummet is imminent. Next Thursday, European heads of government are meeting in London's Hampton Court Palace for the routine half yearly European Council meeting that takes place under each alternating country presidency. Typically the business agenda for these meetings writes itself - there's a row, there's a cobbled together agreement - and somehow the show stays on the road. This time it is different. The EU is in an existential crisis over what it is for, where it is headed, how it is to be governed and how to win popular Europe-wide consent. Despite the appearance of normality, the crisis is beginning to paralyse the entire operation.
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