The global financial crisis has had many economic, financial, social and political consequences. And, surprisingly, it also made both A. Merkel of Germany and N. Sarkozy of France partially amnesiac.
On the one hand, it took A. Merkel almost an ‘eternity’ to agree onto Germany’s contribution to the Greek bailout plan. While it is true that A. Merkel was more preoccupied by crucial regional elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, she should have considered reassuring financial markets instead of frightening them. In the end, her party lost the election and now markets continue to stagger.The chancellor was too quick in forgetting the major political role played by the European Union during the reunification of Germany as well as the great economic contribution of the euro to the country’s recent prosperity.
On the other hand, N. Sarkozy, a former law student, would like to amend the French Constitution with the view of setting limits to public debt. Regulating public expenditure is of utmost importance but modifying the Constitution certainly is not the right means to that end. In essence, the purpose of a Constitution is to define the frame in which public policies should be implemented and not to specify the contents of public policies. N. Sarkozy is clearly making deficits a national issue although the stability pact is already meant for this.
These two testimonies of memory loss epitomize the impossibility for the European Union to achieve more than an economic and monetary union. With national interests keeping the upper hand over common interests, a genuine political union is sheer fantasy.
Arnaud Eard
Arnaud comes from Paris and gained a MA in International Political Economy at the University of Sheffield. He has been interning at Bluegrass Consulting since May 2010.
