Which Europe do we need?

by Emmanuel Bouhalakis

The initial suspicion that the debt crisis in Europe would turn out to be an existential one, threatening to destroy the common currency and even dismantle the E.U., has become a certainty during the past weeks.

Italy and Spain witnessed their borrowing cost soar to unsustainable levels whereas some German banks were downgraded by rating agencies. The idea of a common Eurozone bond has matured among policymakers in Brussels and Germany. However, if the European Central Bank is finally selected to print money and issue a common bond, the governments of the member states may have to withstand increasing scrutiny from Brussels in order to maintain balanced budgets and  punitive measures may be inflicted on those states that will fail to implement the agreed reforms.

It is more than obvious that Europe has come at a crucial crossroads. On one hand there seems to be an imperative need for more centralized fiscal government that will protect the weaker states from the vagaries of money markets. On the other hand, some governments simply do not wish Brussels to define their economic fate and declare that any such intervention would be equal to loss of national sovereignty.

It would seem fitting to state that Europe has been and will always be a "difficult" continent in terms of common policies and clear destinations. The 27 member states of the European Union so far do not have the same language, cultural and historic heritage or customs and ideals. For this reason, the Euro should not be adopted by all of them only as a means of making business and profits. This part of the "experiment" has failed with Greece, Portugal, Ireland and maybe soon Italy and Spain in the downward spiral of debt, recession and social unrest and for which countries the Euro has turned out to be a "pain in the neck" and which are now in danger of defaulting unless Germany and the other stronger states realize that a considerable part of their prosperity belongs to the weaker countries which import their goods and rush to implement radical measures that will not simply include austerity packages.

Finally, it may be better to have a Europe with peace and with its endless potential in bloom than to pursue competitiveness in the world stage with half of Europeans being unable to pay their gas bill or to get a house loan. If the latter Europe it is that some people prefer, then indeed we will have become competitive in the poverty of third world nations.