I was playing Tom Clancy's Endwar the other day and in the game there is, I think it was the European Federation, all of mainland Europe, excluding Russia, is under one flag. Also there is the new commonwealth, United Kingdom and Ireland under one flag as an ally to the federation. To me it raised the question, are the many countries of Europe similar enough to join together under one flag sometime within the next say, 100 years? Is it possible? So many questions we must answer.....
To start with I can tell you there is absolutely no chance of Ireland agreeing to unite again with the UK; there is still a lot of bad blood about the oppression the Irish suffered at our hands in the past. As for a United Europe, that might be a bit more likely, but I don't see it happening. The reason is that the states within the union have such a strong cultural identity with their own languages and diverse customs. This is in stark contrast to the states of the USA which never got the chance to nurture a cultural identity of their own prior to the formation of the country. Hence they were much easier to integrate. Texas is perhaps an exception, but the imminent threat from Mexico was of more immediate concern. If a United Europe were to form you can bet your boots there would be an uprising within a very short space of time.
I'm strong supporter of EU, but no. They wont "unite under one flag", but we are almost like USA. Between members of EU zone we can travel freely, we share multiple programs etc. All we need is a open borders within members of EU (for turists at least) and unified military aside of each countrys own military. I would like to see europe uniting, but I know thats just not realistic for time being. I though want to see closer co operation within EU members
Well what about this, the European Union needs to work together to help less well off countries in Europe. For instance, the Balkans have been bad for years. If the European Union were to interveen and help bring them back together we would be one step closer to world peace and a United Europe
Well what about this, the European Union needs to work together to help less well off countries in Europe. For instance, the Balkans have been bad for years. If the European Union were to interveen and help bring them back together we would be one step closer to world peace and a United Europe[/quote:1vyyipvf] The problem with this is that the system is left open to exploitation. German people are quite peeved at having to bail out the Greek economy, which collapsed as a result of Athens spending money which was not really theirs to spend. It was a bit like giving a financially irresponsible teenager their own credit card. We're now seeing a chain reaction within the eurozone, with countries like Ireland and Portugal struggling as a result. We might be helping out the poorer countries, but it would seem at other countries' expense and not necessarily those that are rich.
The EU just needs to get a big power boost, give de facto central authority to the EU, but symbolicly maintain the several different nations.
Then maybe we could take the EU one step further and consolidate all the countries of Europe's money, which would I'm sure be a very touchy subject but with every country sharing each others money doesnt everyone benefit. Im not good with economy so correct me if I'm wrong.
Touchy is a bit of an understatement; there would be chaos. The Greeks have already rioted over financial reforms undertaken by their government and the French have readily gone on strike in the past for similar reasons. The fact is, people don't like seeing their tax-money bailing out financially-irresponsible governments.
