is the European Union done?

[chiver78]

some interesting light reading for y'all.

2015 EU year in review

thoughts? is Germany being "punished" for some prior (in)actions? is the UK going to take their ball and go home?

[verrip1]

No, the EU isn't done.  There's no reason that it should, any more than the US is done or China is done. 

Yes, the article points out a difficulty that the EU has struggled with this year; refugees.  The distribution of refugees isn't fair.  Some countries aren't doing their part to spread the "wealth" of refugees, instead taking the easy road by letting them enter illegally and turning a blind eye as they move north to their desired destinations.  They'll find a way to even things out in time.  Look at Der Merkel - she's done a complete about face on refugees, toning down the previously more glaring rhetoric between countries. 

Cameron continues to be a doofus, but Britain isn't really all that critical for a wider European Union.  The British have held out from joining the Eurozone common currency for decades because the continued strength of the Pound Sterling argues against joining with countries like Greece who have no economic sense at all and wouldn't hesitate to bring the rest of Europe down with them in their fiscal unsustainability.  If the EU really wanted the UK to join the common currency, getting rid of a malefactor like Greece would be a good selling point.  But it doesn't appear important enough to the EU as a whole to sweeten a possible deal with the UK.  What little credit I can give to Cameron is that he is distancing himself from the EU because much of the UK citizenry dislikes the EU, so he is representing a large constituency.  But, a good leader needs to work such a constituency away from radical moves to support rational conditions.

If you look at the evolution of the EU, they've reduced the rate of grooming new membership admissions.  For a while, their approach seemed to be that bigger is better instead of better is better.  They were fast tracking a lot of new membership, but that trend has slowed in recent years.  As I recall, that changed about the time they rejected Turkey's membership bid, when Belgium suddenly raised a bid stink about too many Turks being in their country (sound familiar?), and the Dutch and French joined with them.  [They had made Turkey make so many concessions, then pulled out the rug from underneath them - driving Ergodan away from his former desire for closer links with the West.]

With a reduced emphasis on adding members, the EU has been able to mature the organization without the disruption of new kids on the block bringing their luggage with them.  To me, the EU seems stronger than they were 10 years ago, not weaker.  It wasn't so long ago that many predicted economic collapse from the PIIGS.  Greece came close, but managed to just skim through in spite of themselves.  Ireland was in deep doo doo but didn't bring down the EU.

This year's refugee disagreements don't seem to me to be of such a critical nature that anyone need be concerned about the future of the EU.