''Be reassured. Despite the crisis which has been tormenting the EU
since 2008, European integration shows progress, so we say. Indeed, but
can we talk about integration in its classic sense? Certainly not. The
crisis is in the course of changing the very nature of the European
Union. Integration moves forward in an aggressive way, which comes close
to a form of expansionism.
The European expansionism is expressed in two ways. On the one hand,
it operates under the auspices of the nation-states. It is formalised by
the conclusion of different intergovernmental agreements on fiscal
policies. On the other hand, it counts on the increased use of the
European technocracy, i.e. the European Commission, the ECB and other
regulatory bodies with regard to banking and finance. This is how France
and Germany, more conscious than ever of the fact that the crisis
renders higher the risk of a political breakdown, have to accommodate
their disagreement on the direction of the European project; a
disagreement that is, otherwise, anchored in the history of European
integration. France aspires, somehow, to be the guarantor of
‘integration solidarity’ – according to F. Hollande, invited to debate
with MEPs at Strasbourg last February – all the while insisting that any
new cooperation on matters of economic policies have to be coordinated..''
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