United States of Europe?

French President Francois Hollande called on Sunday for the creation of a euro zone government and for citizens to renew their faith in the European project, which has been weakened by the Greek crisis.

Reviving an idea originally put forward by former European Commission chief Jacques Delors, Hollande proposed "a government of the euro zone (with) a specific budget as well as a parliament to ensure its democratic control".

The French president said the 19 member states of the euro zone had chosen to join the monetary union because it was in their interests and no one had "taken the responsibility of getting out of it".

"This choice calls for a strengthened organization, an advance guard of the countries who will decide on it," he said.

The euro zone's members are currently united in the informal body the Eurogroup, which comprises each country's finance minister, presided over by Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

"What threatens us is not an excess of Europe but its insufficiency," Hollande wrote in an op-ed in the Journal du Dimanche weekly newspaper.
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In the wake of the near-Grexit, France and Italy seek more powers for the European Commission (EC).

And both countries want another parliament with more power. Their unstated goal is to create a United States of Europe where socialists would outvote the Germans.
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If there is a new parliament, France, Spain, Italy, and Portugal will all seek to "pool resources", the same general idea as "transfer German savings for politicians to spend elsewhere".

Instead, Schäuble seeks "independent" bodies. Let's translate that as well. "Independent" really means "appointed by and to the liking of Germany".

Because politics can change, Schäuble also seeks a fallback mechanism: "budget rules to be triggered automatically".

Of course, France, Italy, Spain, etc., want no part of automated budget rules; they want to vote on rules because they know they can collectively outvote Germany any time they want. Here are the French and Italian proposals:

United States of Europe Proposals

• France - July 20: Hollande Pleads for Creation of Eurozone Government; United States of Europe?
• Italy - July 28: Italy's Finance Minister Joins "United States of Europe" Parade; Germany's "5 Wise Men" Argue for Grexit

Which Will It Be?

Let me summarize the debate with a question: Which will it be:

• United States of Europe
• United States of Germany

Please think before you vote. The answer could be neither. I purposely left out a key choice: The eurozone may still break apart.

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11C1P said:

Didn't we lose Germany's gold for them?

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The euro’s founding father has warned that Europe’s latest plan for an EMU-wide finance ministry is a dangerous attempt to smuggle through political union, and breaches the basic tenets of modern democracy.

Professor Otmar Issing, the chief architect of monetary union through its early years, said it would be “dangerous” to transfer control over tax and spending to the EU federal level before full political union has been established first on democratic foundations.
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The proposals for an EMU finance ministry emerged in a paper by the heads of the Commission, Council, Parliament, Eurogroup, and ECB in June, a document known as the “Five Presidents Report”.

It will start with an advisory European fiscal board and a strategic investment fund with enhanced powers, clearly a finance ministry in embryo. It will graduate towards a “euro area Treasury” from 2017 onwards, anchored in the EU treaties.
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