Posted on 09/29/2011 10:51:38 AM PDT by Olog-hai
FAILURE TO build a sense of European patriotism was a major “design flaw” in the integration project, former taoiseach John Bruton has said. On a visit to Paris as president of IFSC Ireland, Bruton said the sovereign debt crisis had exposed serious deficiencies in the make-up of the EU and the euro. “We failed to take sufficient steps to build a sense of European patriotism. Economic management without patriotism is very difficult. Unless people feel that the Greeks are ‘us’, not ‘them’, that we are Europeans, it’s very difficult to get policies through,” he said.
Over 60 years, the union had moved closer economically without corresponding political integration, Bruton said. At the convention to draft the ill-fated European constitution, he had found little support for a suggestion to have the president of the European Commission directly elected. “And yet we needed something like that to create an electoral experience that would make people feel they were one rather than 27. Now we’re paying the price for that in the difficulty in getting a political mandate for people to do what needs to be done.” …
(Excerpt) Read more at irishtimes.com ...
Wasn’t the whole point of “European Integration” to mute nationalism and prevent future wars involving Europe? Now they are “surprised” that Irish, Germans or Spaniards lack a “European identity”?
Clearly Europeans are more passionate about their nearby football club (Soccer to you & me).
He recognizes the problem but there is no solution.
Patriotism is not a product.
It all boils down to nationalism, which is just tribalism taken to a grand scale. There won’t be a ‘Euro’ patriotism because they have so many different cultures and ethnicities that distrust each other, some going back millenia.
Unless and until there is a common ‘threat’ that all Europeans can rally around for common protection against, there will be no Euro-patriotism.
Radical Islam may provide that exact ‘threat’......................
Patriotism? Jingoism? The EU stands for ... um... well... um... I have no idea.... I am sure it could instill some pride in... er...
never mind
The EU should be dismantled, the euro abolished.
Oh, patriotism! Check your wallet.
The European Economic Community served well as a suplement to existing nations. A political discussion beyond that today is just about French-German authoritarism over the rest.
No one wants to give more powers to the EU as Brussels is considered a nest of corruption.
That's what they sold it as. But the truth is that Europe is more at peace when they're de-integrated, as it were; moves towards unification of parts and/or the whole have historically been preludes to war. The more integrated Europe gets, the more antsy and ambitious their elite leaders get, and the more they talk about doing away with democracy.
Wasn’t the whole point of “European Integration” to mute nationalism and prevent future wars involving Europe?
Not to a (supposedly) patriotic Irishman. Ever heard of Gaelic football? (Soccer is called "the foreign game" by fans of that sport.)
Clearly Europeans are more passionate about their nearby football club (Soccer to you & me)
People liked being able to travel without borders, buy without tariffs and not need to exchange money just so long as the price for those benefits was nearly zero. But now that it looks like it may cost trillions of euros to bail out Greece, Portugal and Ireland and bailing out Spain and Italy may be impossible if they start falling, people aren't going to be so happy about a unified Europe with a price tag.
Bismark’s view exactly.
Design flaw...oh well.
Give me an 'E!'
Give me a 'U!'
Give me an 'R!'...
This is not the case in Europe. There will not be a sense of "Europeness" until the Europeans evolve a common language and culture. This is not going to happen soon.
Clearly I misread my audience! LOL!
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