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| Hard border between Northern Ireland (UK) and the Republic of Ireland during the "Troubles." 1969 -1990. Hungary's new border fences are the result of new troubles brought about by EU policy over free movement of people. Image 1983 |
This EU project is led by the European Commission. The Commission
is like a collection of government ministries supported by an army of
thirty-three thousand employees. Its focus is an attempt to create a modern Federalist
Superstate; a successor to the many forms of government that have ruled Europe
since the collapse of the Roman Empire of past ages. To some this may sound
appealing. To others it sounds the stuff of nightmares.
Empires do not end gracefully and often are credited with a
legacy of internal strife and civil war. From the end of the Western Roman
Empire in 476 AD till the close of the World Wars of European origin, various
empires, federations, confederations, dictatorships, kingdoms, isms and the
like have shaped, built, destroyed and defined the continent.
Euroskeptics view EU ideologues as sick and dangerous patients
to be cut adrift and quarantined. They see the commission as a fanatical body
of brainwashed elites that forces Europeans to follow “More Europe.”
The European Commission, aka “Good Europeans” view the
skeptics with similar disdain. Democracy is dangerous and leads to wars – this they
say about Europe in the 1920’s and 30’s. Better to direct the people how do it
than ask for their viewpoint.
This is a clash of political thought over what is the better
system for ruling Europe in the 21st century.
A clash of political cultural identity between the Democratic
Nation State which emerged from 19th century Europe and the
continuity of European empire.
Interestingly
Churchill said in 1943 “Empires of the future will be empires of the mind.” The new counter –revolution spawning in Hungary
and spreading to central and Eastern Europe is taking the politics of culture
and identity closer to central stage. “Who am I and do I own my country?” “Shall
I be told to move aside to make room for another people and another culture
regardless of how I feel about it?”
I see the EU project entering into decline over its dogmatic
approach to fulfill the aims of the Lisbon treaty. One can only comprehend that
the EU as an intuition to bring Europe together is creating the opposite effect
on almost half of the continents citizens.
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