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Introduction: The Rocky Road to European Unity
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20047 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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12 / 1992 |
358 Words |
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Although France's near rejection of the Maastricht Treaty and a sharp monetary crisis in September caused trepidation in some European capitals, the transition of the European Community into the European Union continues, albeit more slowly. There is less emphasis on a "brave new Europe" come January 1993 and more on key elements like monetary union being implemented within the decade.
As Winston Churchill once remarked, "In a democracy one vote is enough," and the French victory has spurred federalists in France and Germany (the major advocates of union) into moving ahead on three tracks: the creation of a single currency and economic cooperation, political union and European citizenship, and a multinational European defense force.
Is a United States of Europe possible? Stephen Haseler of the City of London College sees a potential imbalance of power between the powerful Brussels bureaucracy and the fledgling Parliament in Strasbourg, which is supposed to represent the voters and taxpayers of Europe. Whether governments will give the Parliament sufficient authority to challenge and check the bureaucracy "is the great unanswered question facing the new Europe."
Does a "German problem" confront Europe? David Carlton of the University of Warwick argues that the new Germany, preoccupied with the formidable political and economic costs of unification, is very unlikely to become the "towering colossus" that concerns some Europeans. Rather than being feared, he suggests, Germany should be rewarded for its accomplishments and given, for example, a permanent seat on the UN Security
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