It seems to me the E.U. is an essentially fascist, essentially oligarchic, essentially imperialist entity without what I'll call the "flash" of previous fascist, oligarchic states and empires. No black-shirted or brown-shirted gangs of thugs. No concentration camps. The same old European anti-Semitism, of course, but it's been recast as "humanitarian concern" for the Palestinians. No cults of personality. No massed flags or torch light parades or chants or anthems for the rabble to stamp their feet to. No massed armies, nor air force fly-overs during hectoring speeches, nor hysterical threats. None of that old-fashioned brash, overtly savage stuff.
The E.U. is no less an exercise in state-controlled crony capitalism than fascist Italy or national socialist Germany, but the control is exercised through gentlemanly banking and finance agreements, and the state is a supra-state, a sort of club for very rich, well educated, well connected people of big business and big government. In some ways, it seems a restoration of the pre-World War I aristocracy, in others, a neo-aristocracy based exclusively or primarily on accumulated wealth; in either event, it's a markedly less flamboyant aristocracy.
I think the E.U. was embarked upon as a means to compete with America by reducing competition among European nations. I think it's done well at that, though the larger half of the reason for its success is America's suicidal economic and political policies dating back to the 1960s. I think the E.U. is developing crony or closed market capitalism, which is to say: the big bankers and industrial players form de facto monopolies and cartels with the E.U.'s blessings and political support.
I have a hunch the E.U. has learned the lesson of imperialist warfare, which is unspeakably destructive, and turned instead toward imperialist economic... not warfare, exactly, but quiet, orderly, polite antagonism. Instead of looking for land and people to conquer, the E.U. is trying to conquer markets, resources, opportunities, and keep them firmly under the control of the partnership of big, very wealthy business and big, but generally quiet, mild-mannered government. It's not totalitarian in the grossly overt way fascism and communism were: it's totalitarian in a sugar-coated, much more what you might call "humane" way.
If the self-proclaimed "progressives" who've eviscerated our constitutional republic from within and replaced it in all but name with their oligarchy were constructive rather than destructive, they'd probably recreate the E.U. with an American flavor or exterior appearance. The "progressives" in America have much more in common with Russia's Bolsheviks than the E.U.'s more businesslike, polite oligarchs.
A pox on both their totalitarian houses!
In other words: Work harder, Germany. Eleven million Greeks depend on you.
Europe is setting up their own FED. Seeing how well it is working to transform America into a Socialist Utopia.....