| I understand the history of European integration. Contrary to the expectation of everyone, the EU is mostly an economic body. It has other missions, but those are nowhere as popular or as effective as economic integration. Cultural integration? EU cultural policy is focused on preserving local cultures, not promoting a Pan-European culture. They want a pan-European culture. They just don’t know how to make it. Are there EU-wide sports leagues? EU wide award shows? Irish authors brag when they get shortlisted for the Booker Prize, not when they get some obscure EU award. Political integration? What’s the turnout on EU elections? Military integration? I read something about some experimental “European” unit somewhere. But there are probably more Germans in the French Foreign Legion than there are soldiers in the “EU” military. The EU is a failure at everything except economics. They want to do more. They really do. It’s “in the cards.” And my original complaint was that the EU justifies non-economic measures using economic logic. Why? Because despite the despite the cultural, military, and political goals, the EU is mostly an economic entity, But an economic union based upon mandatory liberal economics is certainly not what anyone had in mind before 1989. Edit: A good example is freedom of movement. Originally, this was a cultural policy decided to make “Europeans.” It’s failed. When Poles move to Ireland, they and their descendants become Irish, not European. So the EU justifies it by talking about an “integrated labor market.” |