Why has it been so successful? Will it ever have an army? Will population decline be a problem?
Question: Why is the E.U. so successful?
Parag Khanna: Europe has been very successful for a number of reasons. One, there was a certain collective reckoning after World War II, and the presence of very enlightened statesmen, and the support of the United States, all coming together at around the same time and helping to kickstart a process, a very mild and primarily economic European integration among a few core countries.
What they grew into, the European Union today, is a remarkable success story.
There has always been a debate about whether Europe should be widening or deepening. And the fact is that Europe is done built, it has grown broader. And since 1991, it is grown by, on average, one country per year. It was 6 to 12, and 16 is other at 27, and may soon be 30 member states. So it has grown broader, it is also grown deeper.
The density and depth of institutions that exist in Brussels, Luxemburg, Strasburg and elsewhere, is absolutely unbelievable. The common currency, and all of these sorts of developments, parliamentary-wise, judicially, and so forth; the existence of the European Commission. It was not self evident that these institutions would have grown the way they did in the 1950s, but they have. That’s been a remarkable success story, even if it were to stop today.
Recorded on: 3/3/2008
Question: Why is the E.U. so successful?
Parag Khanna: Europe has been very successful for a number of reasons. One, there was a certain collective reckoning after World War II, and the presence of very enlightened statesmen, and the support of the United States, all coming together at around the same time and helping to kickstart a process, a very mild and primarily economic European integration among a few core countries.
What they grew into, the European Union today, is a remarkable success story.
There has always been a debate about whether Europe should be widening or deepening. And the fact is that Europe is done built, it has grown broader. And since 1991, it is grown by, on average, one country per year. It was 6 to 12, and 16 is other at 27, and may soon be 30 member states. So it has grown broader, it is also grown deeper.
The density and depth of institutions that exist in Brussels, Luxemburg, Strasburg and elsewhere, is absolutely unbelievable. The common currency, and all of these sorts of developments, parliamentary-wise, judicially, and so forth; the existence of the European Commission. It was not self evident that these institutions would have grown the way they did in the 1950s, but they have. That’s been a remarkable success story, even if it were to stop today.
Recorded on: 3/3/2008
