It is difficult not to be Eurosceptic. The euro is in trouble, Greece has been bankrupted by Angela Merkel’s fiscal rules, and the Schengen agreement on open borders is collapsing as economic migration seems impossible to stop. Genuine refugees are sadly lost in the human tide of misery landing on the shores of Greece and Italy.
And the democratic deficit which allows the European Union to be so unaccountable is leading to the rise of extreme nationalist political parties all over Europe. The result – Bulgaria has a lamentable justice system, Poland has introduced illiberal media laws and Hungary’s constitution has been hijacked.
The EU is in danger of collapse unless it undertakes serious reform. That, I believe, most of us all agree on, but it’s an uphill struggle. We Conservatives made a mistake when we thought that the inclusion of the Eastern bloc countries in the EU, after they were freed from the shackles of centralised rule, would be a beneficial influence.
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