Europe's Calamity

Following Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, the EU should seriously consider whether all parties involved would be better off parting ways. Members favoring political integration should move on, while those satisfied with the Common Market should stay behind.

It has happened. After France and the Netherlands rejected the European Constitutional Treaty, Ireland’s “No” vote is the second and probably decisive blow against a united and strong Europe.

June 12, 2008, will have to be remembered as the day that made European history. No matter what desperate rescue efforts will be undertaken, they cannot hide the fact that the European Union has left the world stage as a serious foreign policy player for at least ten years (if not for much longer).

This has happened at a time when the problems on the Balkans remain unresolved, America is experiencing a relative decline, Russia is regaining strength, Turkey’s domestic policy is taking a wrong turn, the Near East – the EU’s direct neighbor – threatens to explode, and the speed of China’s and India’s rise as emerging powers will define the global economy and politics of tomorrow.

https://prosyn.org/w3RBASK