The EU: Is It Really Possible?

Is it just me, or am I the only one who finds it slightly (nay, very) funny and ironic that the French and the Germans have to work together in a collective body, despite the fact that post-war sentiment still colors most of each group’s view of the other? That the United Kingdom, with its legacy of “splendid isolation,” is now one of the most powerful entities in the Union, despite its refusal to join in regarding the single currency? That a body created in response to the need to come together in the name of economic survival now conducts roughly a third of the world’s trade as one of the most powerful trading blocs on the globe? I hope not.
To me, the European Union is an economic (and increasingly political) powerhouse born of curious contradictions. Even historically, during times when Europe has been seen as economically strong, the respective set-ups can been seen as bipolar; Europe has moved from operating on a purely competitive landscape to one whose cooperative nature is unprecedented in the region. On one hand—between the 1500’s and 1700’s, before the advent of modern, classical free trade philosophy—the European nations were mercantilist in nature, engaging in adversarial trade marked by protectionist policies and the paramount goal of increasing the home country’s bullion by limiting imports and encouraging exports, promoting the creation of colonial empires. During this time, the political landscape was mottled with conflicts and wars, fueled by this economic strategy.
The landscape now, however, seems to have cleared itself of these blemishes, for the most part at least. The creation of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952 was the start of this new cooperative mindset, to which France, Italy, West Germany, and the Benelux countries were all a part. This new supranational community bolstered Europe’s post-war economic potential by integrating the said countries steel and coal industries, thus creating a common market. Further integration followed, with the merging of different communities and institutions, culminating in the formation of the European Union in 1993 with the ratification of the Treaty of Maastricht. Now, the EU boasts 27 members, as opposed to its original six; in fact, even the EU website is available in 23 languages. The EU has its own President, Parliament, court system, monetary unit, etc., acting, in a way, like a nation-state of its own.
As impressive as this is, I cannot help but smile at the fact that the nations of Europe, on the whole very proud nations, are willing to foster a common market with increased political integration for the sake of saving themselves. It is no surprise that cultural clashes can flare up from time to time; is it really possible for many older Frenchmen not to sneer at the sight of an Audi and for many older Germans to rush to see the next French film? I think it’s unlikely. Furthermore, the EU is not as fully integrated as it might like to portray. We all know that the UK is the anomaly of the group, as the nation that not only refuses to accept the Euro as its mode of currency, but also is not even a geographical part of continental Europe; however, it holds a great deal of sway in terms of influence and legislation. According to Tony Wright in his work British Politics: A Very Short Introduction, the UK is not even on the same page as the EU in terms of legislative and electoral process, with the UK exhibiting “winner takes-all adversarialism” and the EU exhibiting “consensus-seeking and coalition-building” behavior; “in this respect British politics is still stubbornly un-European” (Wright, 102).
I suppose that the EU can teach us something: in times of trouble, band together or die. In choosing cooperation over competition, Europe has gone from being a continent of warring nations to a regional bloc of increasingly strong economic forces, despite the fact that this amalgamation may be intrinsically unnatural to the nations involved. And though it’s quaint to this that everyone considers himself “European,” instead of “French” or “German,” I guarantee you there will be no consensus on whether escargots or sauerkraut is the better, more “European” dish.