Barnier: ‘Many citizens are worried by a European project that has no limits’

Why does "an European" keep comparing Europe with the USA? It has a totally different history, and has diverged considerably from the original european settlers' vision. I lived there for a while, and really liked it and the Americans, but to suggest it is a model for the EU is total crap.

The USA wasn't dumped together, and never expected some states to impoverish themselves to support others, it also had a civil war during its early years but it was a nation that evolved with a common language and a common credo, unlike the eussr. There is no rational argument to compare the eussr with the USA whereas the USSR and the eussr are very close in their set up.

The EMU is a disaster and this is because it was a political idea not an economic one, it doesn't need federal policies, it already has the eurozone group which aledgedly decide on its policies why should the remainder of the nations stuck in this corruption ridden democratically deficent area be governed by the countries that adopted the euro?

What is the problem with you that you can't see the wood for the trees?

You can have your point of view, but tell me which village is missing its idiot while you are posting here?

I realise that there are a lot of people in the eussr who are easily lead by the propaganda but then again that was true of the Weimar republic as well, and we all know where that lead. I have a lot of problems with the democratic deficit that is not only endemic in the eussr but seems to be deliberately adopted.

Lets see, I mention states, an european mentions specific cities, they are not the same thing so I see no point in mentioning them.

The official language of the USA is English the Spanish speakers are immigrants from South America, that they haven't bothered to learn English is just a bad refelction on them they go to a country to better themselves but can't be bothered to learn its language. That is not a positive outcome for anyone.

I think that the whole left North american coast is the west coast and Spanish and other languages are spoken there as well as throughout the rest of America, foreigners tend to speak their own language when they go to other countries, I certainly do if I go to a european country where I am a foreigner.

The USA was built by people fleeing europe and other natons to get a better life, people are still fleeing europe for the same reasons just as they are fleeing some eussr nations to go to others within the eussr, what is your point exactly?

The EMU was and remains a disaster it created the euro which is causing most of the economic problems in the eussr at the present, federal policies will not aid the piigs nations, it will just leave them incapable of participating on a level play ground with the rest of the world in the trade arena. You are just a power grabbing eurofederalist who is incapable of realising that this will only lead to another major war on the continent of europe.

The Swiss are a free federal nation not a multi national federal nation, they had the sense to stay out of the eussr.

Are you sure you know how Cheese is made, perhaps you can tell the unelected commissioners all about it, then they will make regulations to change it.

Your village is desperate for your return.

Unless you have Britain and France as paid mercenaries for the EU , the idea of an European defence Force is laughable as many countries are effectively pacifist .
you cannot mix multinational troops and say there's an Army . Many British servicemen would resign , rather than serve in an EU defence force .

The European defence project is nonsense! What Germany wants is the EU to be a neutral power broker between the US and Russia: that is the real reason for Merkel's dithering on Syria. And for Van Rompuy's immediate assertion at the beginning of the summit that the EU was not in favour of military interaction, without any consultation of France and Britain. But when the US wants something from Russia, it asks Russia directly. This is something that Germany will never understand. All that Germany wants is enough neutrality in order to advance its very own commercial interests in Russia. In order to do that, it wants to coax France and the UK into its Pax Germanica: that is the European Defense project! The country with the smallest army and the smallest defense budget coaxing two of its victors and their glorious armies into its self-interested neutrality!
The European defense project can only consist of a Franco-British and Polish-Turkish axis directed against Russia and of a permanently demilitarized Germany.

The eussr should not have any "competency" to use its word for power grab, in any military decision making, that should remain with the individual country. We have seen that democratic means can stop a national leader sending troops into a war, the eussr is not democratic and we would have a failed politician like rumpy deciding to send a nations young people into a war zone that are not even his fellow country men. France apparently are the only nation that wants to attack Syria, even the US do not have a mandate from the people to do it, so let them go into the fight, they might actually win something that they are involved in for the first time in 100 years.

@ George Mc
The two-pack and the six-pack are also unconstitutional. Whatever limits budgetary sovereignty is unconstitutional because unfringed budgetary sovereignty is a fundamental right of a free people. The constitutional courts didn't shoot down the two-pack because it is worded in wobbly Brusselspeak and gave it the benefit of the doubt by considering it inocuous. This is why I am firmly against eurobonds, because their fiscal counterpart is unconstitutional.

Barry Davies
You are right , the only way forward is to scrap the Euro . Part of the reason for protecting the Euro is that as an independent currency it is traded around he world . Unfortunately the countries who use it as their currency , have no flexibility to raise or lower the value of their currency , many are stuck in a rut of uncompetivity that they will never escape from . Protecting the Euro will bring no solution at all .

George Mc
Yes you are right , Germany is " Nigger in the woodpile ", who does very well out of the Euro and heaven help Greece or any other country that might default and cause a collapse of the Euro .
So , we shouldn't worry too much if Germany has to keep bailing out greece to keep the Euro alive .
Never the less the economic crisis in Europe will never right itself until countries have their own currency again to devalue how they like . Countries like Germany will find a limited market , because within the EU penny pinching will remain .
The EU has a forseeable future in which the market will remain very slow .

@ Charles

An interesting one. If this was something that was too politically hot to handle by the UK would it work with just the Euro nations?

well only 3 nations are actually net contributors Germany The UK and France has been since 2005, so it would get a majority vote to triple it from the non contributors. It would be more than enough to tip the British populace, if not the political class against continued membership of this already overpriced club.