The political environment in Europe today would be familiar to anyone living in the US in the early 1780s. The parallels between that period of American history and the ongoing crisis in the EU offer a reason for hope that some of the most difficult issues facing the continent can one day be resolved.
FLORENCE – Europeans who are eager to revive the continent’s unification process have recently turned their attention to the founding of the United States. Many, however, reject the US precedent on the grounds that today’s problems are too dissimilar from those encountered then. Others, who accept that federalist principles might be well suited to addressing the problems of a European common market, despair that the “European people” who could bring about this new political structure are missing.
FLORENCE – Europeans who are eager to revive the continent’s unification process have recently turned their attention to the founding of the United States. Many, however, reject the US precedent on the grounds that today’s problems are too dissimilar from those encountered then. Others, who accept that federalist principles might be well suited to addressing the problems of a European common market, despair that the “European people” who could bring about this new political structure are missing.