Remember this science fiction scenario about the United States of Europe? A powerful minister and close aide of prime minister Alexis Tsipras calls for a Federal European Union. for more integration in the form of United States of Europe. Supporting the European Union goes hand in hand with supporting federalism and Brussels should make a stronger push for ever-closer union, Greek government minister Nikos Pappas, a close aide to prime minister Alexis Tsipras, has declared.
Mr Pappas said proclaiming a pro-EU stance without backing federalism was “meaningless” and amounted to “talking the talk but not walking the walk”.
In an interview with Greek newspaper Avgi, the Minister of Digital Policy, Media and Telecommunications and a close ally of prime minister Alexis Tsipras, insisted Europe should strengthen its rhetoric promoting serious integration.
He said: “The European governance model has shown its limits and all the criticism it has been receiving for two decades has proved to be fair.”
And in a thinly-veiled criticism of Greek opposition politicians, Mr Pappas said those joining the ‘We remain in Europe’ movement – which is failing to support radical changes such as a European unemployment allowance, a higher EU budget, a banking union and the strengthening the European Parliament powers – “swim in an ideologically shallow area”.
He told Avgi: “The ‘We remain in Europe’ movement was created in Greece just before the July 2015 referendum to decide if Greece should accept the third bailout conditions.
“Almost all Greek opposition parties joined this movement and campaigned on the platform that a ‘No’ vote in the referendum would mean a ‘Grexit’ from the EU.”
This view was shared by many EU leaders but they changed their minds when the no vote ultimately prevailed.
But the leftist Syriza government had always made it clear the referendum would be on the terms of the bailout and not EU membership.
Mr Pappas said: “The neoliberal consensus which prevailed in Europe over the last 20 years was basically the result of co-operation between social democrats and the centre-right conservative political forces.
“This recipe is now faced with an impasse.
“Europe is at a crossroads and has two choices: either going far right and turning back to nationalism and the ideology of hatred or moving toward a progressive and left agenda.
“It seems that parts of social democracy have begun to revise the strategic choices they made in the past two decades.”
Greece has been struggling with a crippling debt crisis since 2009 and has been forced to implement hugely unpopular austerity policies in return for a bail-out from the EU. (EN Express, GR Avgi).
The United States of Europe refers to several similar hypothetical scenarios of the unification of Europe as a single sovereign federation of states, similar to the United States of America. In case of left-wing SYRIZA, I suspect, the vision leans rather to the model of the old Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) that fell apart and dropped dead in 1991.
I suppose that means the Greek political class would be able to loot the German treasury as well as their own. Great idea.
It is the German “political class” that loots everybody else and has done so after the euro. As far as the Greek political elites are concerned, they just sell themselves to the highest bidder.
To all those who promote a “United States of Europe” (USE) akin to the USA, I have the following questions:
1) How many soccer teams would the USE send to the soccer world championship? (USA sends one).
2) Would there still be a European soccer championship? (none in the US).
3) How many teams would the USE send to the Olympics? (USA send one).
3) How many seats would the USE have at the UN? (USA has one).
and that, folks, is what the globalists and power-hungry maniacs have been itching for, Eliminate soveriegnty in europe entirely and transfer all power to a faceless unaccountable bureaucracy in brussels. A privileged class of politicians and appointees and everyone else uniformly buggered, and no alternatives left even for those who would move to another country to find a freer life. United States of Europe? More like version 2 of the USSR.
Congratulations to the brits who managed to get out. Will we escape this death trap? Certainly not with the crop of politicians we have these days, who see us only as the bargaining chips to sell us and buy themselves a seat at the banquet in brussels.