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Disenchantment and Frustration among European Citizens

By Amio Cajander - http://www.flickr.com/photos/10209472@N03/1854625464/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18295545

Many European citizens say they are tired of relying on EU institutions and treaties to determine their fate. And yet, Europe this "island" of peace and prosperity is the envy of much of the world. What is the reason behind such an apparent contradiction? If we were to choose one reason among many, we would point out that too many domestic politicians explain their own failures by the lack of an appropriate european social and economic policy. It is always easy to cast the blame on the EU! Yet, the functioning of the Union is far from perfect. But, how could it be otherwise? 27 different political leaders running countries with very different economic conditions. And for example, it is true that the defence of the European industry appears to be naïve or even ineffective compared to the other major economic powers.Too many citizens are still unemployed, particularly in Southern Europe -a total of 20.4 million in the EU representing an unemployment rate of 8.4% (Fig.Nov.16).That said, we need to look at what does not work, but also at what does work. We must never forget that the "fathers of Europe" wanted first to reconcile ancient ennemies -especially France and Germany- around a joint project in the wake of the catastrophic consequences of the 2 World Wars.And they succeeded, in spite of the complexity of the task.But it should also be reminded that the EU has become the leading economic power in the world.This is another unquestionable success.Of course, with regard to the upcoming elections in France,Germany and Italy,2017 will be a year of uncertainty for Europe.But ultimately what would be a credible alternative to the EU?

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