A dying kiss
22/2/16 11:07![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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talkpoliticsBeing the cynical nation that we are, we Bulgarians have a nice saying: "Once we join a strategic alliance, they're doomed with imminent collapse". And it's true. Ironically, history has shown that whichever block of countries we've joined, soon tends to collapse (the continental block in WW1; the axis in WW2; the Soviet block)... This doesn't bode well for NATO and the EU now, does it? And neither for Schengen.
Here's what happened the other day. The elaborate technocratic lace of the Brussels dress that was being woven between UK and EU may've achieved some form, now that the two sides have reached an "agreement" - but these are hard to explain to the ordinary EU citizen. The agreement between Cameron and the remaining 27 member states now grants UK a "special status" within the EU (not that the UK didn't already have a special-snowflake status in practice, if not on paper). The idea is to appease the special snowflake Britons to please be so kind to stay with us a while more, because we love them so much, even if they hate us. Cute - in a very typically European way.
Problem is, the Euroskeptics at the other side of the La Manche (or as they humbly call it, the "British" Channel), won't find anything in this agreement that would help change their skepticism about Europe even one bit. In that sense, this agreement, beside being a blatant legitimization of the double standards that have already existed in the EU for quite a while, and an act of shameless bending over backwards, is also something like a death kiss for the EU itself.
Why? Because the Britons are obviously more prone to occupying themselves with philosophical questions like, is Britain's insular character compatible with a continental block at all - rather than dealing with more specific issues like interpreting specific measures like welfare cuts for future internal EU migrants (such a sensitive question to the insular Britons!)
By the way, the fact that the whole of Europe has now bent over backwards in front of the British demands, still doesn't guarantee that the referendum that Cameron is now preparing, would appease Euroskepticism within his own party itself, let alone the rest of the British society (Scotland is quite another story - they do love their Europeanness, but Brussels betrayed them by warning them that if they had seceded, they'd be thrown out of the EU). Thus, the upcoming referendum could turn out a deadly blow on EU itself.
A Brexit could have both economic and political consequences, sure. But even if it's averted, this agreement has already sprinkled the poison into Europe's bloodstream, and it'll be sure to be slowly killing the EU from now on. It won't happen overnight, let's not fool ourselves. Rather, it'll be a protracted dismantling process. Because from now on, nobody would have the incentive to respect the common rules, since they've all witnessed how these rules could be bypassed through a nicely, skillfully crafted good old-style blackmail. You know, the British way.
Paradoxically, if the UK and EU keep things as per the stipulations of this agreement, this would slowly kill the union. If the UK leaves the EU, that'll kill the union as well. Cool, heh?
Here's what happened the other day. The elaborate technocratic lace of the Brussels dress that was being woven between UK and EU may've achieved some form, now that the two sides have reached an "agreement" - but these are hard to explain to the ordinary EU citizen. The agreement between Cameron and the remaining 27 member states now grants UK a "special status" within the EU (not that the UK didn't already have a special-snowflake status in practice, if not on paper). The idea is to appease the special snowflake Britons to please be so kind to stay with us a while more, because we love them so much, even if they hate us. Cute - in a very typically European way.
Problem is, the Euroskeptics at the other side of the La Manche (or as they humbly call it, the "British" Channel), won't find anything in this agreement that would help change their skepticism about Europe even one bit. In that sense, this agreement, beside being a blatant legitimization of the double standards that have already existed in the EU for quite a while, and an act of shameless bending over backwards, is also something like a death kiss for the EU itself.
Why? Because the Britons are obviously more prone to occupying themselves with philosophical questions like, is Britain's insular character compatible with a continental block at all - rather than dealing with more specific issues like interpreting specific measures like welfare cuts for future internal EU migrants (such a sensitive question to the insular Britons!)
By the way, the fact that the whole of Europe has now bent over backwards in front of the British demands, still doesn't guarantee that the referendum that Cameron is now preparing, would appease Euroskepticism within his own party itself, let alone the rest of the British society (Scotland is quite another story - they do love their Europeanness, but Brussels betrayed them by warning them that if they had seceded, they'd be thrown out of the EU). Thus, the upcoming referendum could turn out a deadly blow on EU itself.
A Brexit could have both economic and political consequences, sure. But even if it's averted, this agreement has already sprinkled the poison into Europe's bloodstream, and it'll be sure to be slowly killing the EU from now on. It won't happen overnight, let's not fool ourselves. Rather, it'll be a protracted dismantling process. Because from now on, nobody would have the incentive to respect the common rules, since they've all witnessed how these rules could be bypassed through a nicely, skillfully crafted good old-style blackmail. You know, the British way.
Paradoxically, if the UK and EU keep things as per the stipulations of this agreement, this would slowly kill the union. If the UK leaves the EU, that'll kill the union as well. Cool, heh?
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(no subject)
Date: 22/2/16 09:15 (UTC)Do we know that for sure, though?
Exactly.
Date: 22/2/16 09:16 (UTC)RE: Exactly.
Date: 22/2/16 09:18 (UTC)RE: Exactly.
Date: 22/2/16 09:18 (UTC)RE: Exactly.
Date: 22/2/16 09:18 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 22/2/16 09:19 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 22/2/16 12:15 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 22/2/16 12:25 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 22/2/16 12:42 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 22/2/16 12:47 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 22/2/16 12:20 (UTC)Talk about poor judgment.
(no subject)
Date: 22/2/16 12:39 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 28/2/16 17:48 (UTC)Seriously, though, some of the international institutions will survive, some will shrink, some will fade away, and some, like the Euro, were terribly designed in the first place.
(no subject)
Date: 28/2/16 18:22 (UTC)