How many countless millions of Europeans live in a rosy-coloured world
they call democracy, fooling themselves as they get up each morning that
they live in a democratic society, convinced that their elected
authorities control each and every facet of their lives and that
ultimately, it’s the people who decide at election time. Such a scenario
could not be further from the truth.
Once upon a time, there was a wonderful promise
called the European Economic Community where peoples would have a
liberalised trading policy, freedom of movement, living together
smiling, with each country keeping its own culture as its citizens voted
happily to construct the Common Project. Even the French and the
Germans would live side by side in peace. Then one day we woke up and
found that the dream had turned into a nightmare.
The wicked witch of Maastricht, the Demonic Dragon of
Nice and the Wilful Wizard of Lisbon joined forces and together,
created the monster we see today: The European Union, Destroyer of
Democracy. Let us see how undemocratic the system has become.
A country’s economy controls its internal policies,
such as providing healthcare, funding the education system, the
emergency services and ultimately dictating what that anonymous and
unknown department, spatial planning, gets up to.
In theory, spatial planning is, or should be, at the
heart of internal policy-making. It is the department that decides
whether a hospital is to be built, and where, and what services it will
provide, the department that decides where clusters of industry should
be established. Its strings are pulled by the Ministry of
Finance/Economy which manages fiscal revenue and other incomes to
provide financing for public services. Fair enough.
Now, those who live in this rosy-coloured perfect
world called an EU Democracy will believe that their elected authorities
control this policy from beginning to end and therefore manage to
satisfy their promises made during election manifestos.
Wrong!
For the countries inside the Eurozone, such a notion
could not be further from the truth, for its member states have to make
tremendous efforts to keep within the eu-2020 convergence demands made
on their economies, while being part of the Euro means
that any autonomy they once had in managing the value of their currency
to offset macro-economic panoramas has been sold down the river. And who
asked the people of the Eurozone if they wanted the Euro? So how
democratic is that?
How many countless millions of Europeans live in a rosy-coloured world
they call democracy, fooling themselves as they get up each morning that
they live in a democratic society, convinced that their elected
authorities control each and every facet of their lives and that
ultimately, it’s the people who decide at election time. Such a scenario
could not be further from the truth.
Once upon a time, there was a wonderful promise
called the European Economic Community where peoples would have a
liberalised trading policy, freedom of movement, living together
smiling, with each country keeping its own culture as its citizens voted
happily to construct the Common Project. Even the French and the
Germans would live side by side in peace. Then one day we woke up and
found that the dream had turned into a nightmare.
The wicked witch of Maastricht, the Demonic Dragon of
Nice and the Wilful Wizard of Lisbon joined forces and together,
created the monster we see today: The European Union, Destroyer of
Democracy. Let us see how undemocratic the system has become.
A country’s economy controls its internal policies,
such as providing healthcare, funding the education system, the
emergency services and ultimately dictating what that anonymous and
unknown department, spatial planning, gets up to.
In theory, spatial planning is, or should be, at the
heart of internal policy-making. It is the department that decides
whether a hospital is to be built, and where, and what services it will
provide, the department that decides where clusters of industry should
be established. Its strings are pulled by the Ministry of
Finance/Economy which manages fiscal revenue and other incomes to
provide financing for public services. Fair enough.
Now, those who live in this rosy-coloured perfect
world called an EU Democracy will believe that their elected authorities
control this policy from beginning to end and therefore manage to
satisfy their promises made during election manifestos.
Wrong!
For the countries inside the Eurozone, such a notion
could not be further from the truth, for its member states have to make
tremendous efforts to keep within the eu-2020 convergence demands made
on their economies, while being part of the Euro means
that any autonomy they once had in managing the value of their currency
to offset macro-economic panoramas has been sold down the river. And who
asked the people of the Eurozone if they wanted the Euro? So how
democratic is that?
How many countless millions of Europeans live in a rosy-coloured world
they call democracy, fooling themselves as they get up each morning that
they live in a democratic society, convinced that their elected
authorities control each and every facet of their lives and that
ultimately, it’s the people who decide at election time. Such a scenario
could not be further from the truth.
Once upon a time, there was a wonderful promise
called the European Economic Community where peoples would have a
liberalised trading policy, freedom of movement, living together
smiling, with each country keeping its own culture as its citizens voted
happily to construct the Common Project. Even the French and the
Germans would live side by side in peace. Then one day we woke up and
found that the dream had turned into a nightmare.
The wicked witch of Maastricht, the Demonic Dragon of
Nice and the Wilful Wizard of Lisbon joined forces and together,
created the monster we see today: The European Union, Destroyer of
Democracy. Let us see how undemocratic the system has become.
A country’s economy controls its internal policies,
such as providing healthcare, funding the education system, the
emergency services and ultimately dictating what that anonymous and
unknown department, spatial planning, gets up to.
In theory, spatial planning is, or should be, at the
heart of internal policy-making. It is the department that decides
whether a hospital is to be built, and where, and what services it will
provide, the department that decides where clusters of industry should
be established. Its strings are pulled by the Ministry of
Finance/Economy which manages fiscal revenue and other incomes to
provide financing for public services. Fair enough.
Now, those who live in this rosy-coloured perfect
world called an EU Democracy will believe that their elected authorities
control this policy from beginning to end and therefore manage to
satisfy their promises made during election manifestos.
Wrong!
For the countries inside the Eurozone, such a notion
could not be further from the truth, for its member states have to make
tremendous efforts to keep within the eu-2020 convergence demands made
on their economies, while being part of the Euro means
that any autonomy they once had in managing the value of their currency
to offset macro-economic panoramas has been sold down the river. And who
asked the people of the Eurozone if they wanted the Euro? So how
democratic is that?
