Prop up union that doesn't support self?

The EU is comprised of 27 countries, with the Eurozone consisting of 16 of those same participants. Some union. That's like saying there are 50 states in the United States but only 30 of them use the dollar as their currency. And by the way, Great Britain is part of this grand design called the EU but not a member of the Eurozone. No euros for the Brits.

Adding to the union that really isn't a union is the fact London is the financial center of Europe and is only second to New York in global financial importance but is a secondary player in all things financially Europe. A financial power globally, with little financial influence in its own union of nations. Strange.

The EU was intended to be the third power in global affairs counterbalancing the dominance of the United States and the aggressive and still unpredictable tendencies of the new Russia. China was still a looming menace on the horizon. There was talk at its inception of breaking away from NATO to form its own military alliance, less dependent on U.S. military superiority.

With GDP of $16 trillion and a population of 492 million the EU in total spends $290 billion on defense. Contrast that with a U.S. GDP of $14 trillion and a population of 320 million with a defense budget of $711 billion. So much for influencing the security of the globe let alone the EU's own parochial security concerns.

And now there is the "Greek Tragedy." Twenty-seven countries "enjoy" the benefits of EU membership, while 16 Eurozoners have to pony up the money to the tune of $1 trillion to keep the whole continent solvent. A large chunk of that money will flow from Germany and France, the linchpins of the EU. A sizable sum will come from the International Monetary Fund to the tune of $330 billion.

And that's where the U.S. comes into the act. The IMF's largest donor nation is... you guessed it, the U.S. with a burden of one-third of its financial backing. So, while dealing with our own self-induced financial problems that are only being papered over, we are asked to again ride to the rescue of Europe, an entity that normally looks down their provincial noses at the "commoners" across the pond.

A EU constructed to offer an alternative to the world, to the U.S. military and financial power and influence is tied ever tighter to the nation it proposed to break away from at its creation. We can barely afford to keep our Union going now we have to prop up a union that is a union in name only?

Steve Sarich

Grayslake