I was really glad to read this Opinion piece by Andrew Moravcsik, Director of the European Union Program at Princeton in this week’s Newsweek, as it draws a neat conclusion on some of the stories I’ve brought up in this Blog over the last number of months. My very first blog for the FPA was entitled “Will economic protectionism divide the EU” back in February. Thankfully Moravcsik’s simple conclusion is that economic protectionism hasn’t happened and the economic crisis has actually further unified the Union.
The European Union has often acted in the past as the whipping boy for Member State politicans for the effects of some of its unpopular but necessary policies. Therefore it is actually qute unbelievable that that the catostrophic effects of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression has not weakened the Union and has actually had a unifying effect. Many factors have affected this, including the radid informal March summit (on which I blogged) where European leaders had to face each other and, in the process, collectively face away from intra-EU protectionism. However, a greater conclusion about the European Union itself must be drawn. As Moravcsik says “the crisis taught Europeans that if they want to protect their prosperity, there is no alternative to tighter policy coordination” – it appears that the EU has proved that it has an undeniable underlying logic for Europeans and it must be concluded that it will be providing solutions for economic, social & political problems for many years to come.
The EU's underlying logic means it will be around for years to come