3 minutes ago

or at least not mentioned - is that NO European country was coerced into joining the EU. They were all - including the UK - plenty eager to join because they realized the advantages that would stem from membership.

Now some are acting like spoiled children a la Trump. The UK's RW politicians have been among the worst, but some of them are pussycats compared to those in Eastern European nations.

It is only within the last 15+ years, when some countries whose democratic institutions were weaker - or previously non-existent - became members, nationalist politicians rose to power in new members (e.g., Poland) with the RW becoming more powerful generally throughout the EU, the completely disastrous invasions of Iraq and war in Afghanistan along with other ME meddling mostly instigated by the US caused the most massive refugee crisis since WWII, and many powerful institutions/individuals from the US/UK (fearing the EUR as a competitor of the USD/GBP) aided and abetted financial crises in the EZ (e.g., Greece) so that things have become almost untenable.

The founding members remain for the most part committed to the original ideals. Germany, with Merkel almost singlehandedly carrying a huge burden, has been the most idealistic. The others have had more pushback from their nationalist RW factions and no leaders comparable to Merkel.

I was initially disappointed when Merkel was elected Chancellor of Germany. But I have learned to admire her as one of the most impressive women I have ever seen. She will not be at this meeting, of course, but her Foreign Minister will represent her well.

and Hillary Clinton will complement each other well.

That is just another of the thousands of reasons why I support Hillary Clinton for President of the United States!

Welcome to DU

'the completely disastrous invasions of Iraq and war in Afghanistan along with other ME meddling mostly instigated by the US caused the most massive refugee crisis.'

being forced on people, largely without their consent, that was/is the biggest issue.

The original idea of a Common (Tariff free) marketplace was what people bought into. The creation of a European Parliament which was perceived to be a gravy train and unaccountable caused a lot of negative feelings towards it. It all gathered pace with the Single European Act/Maasticht Treaty/Lisbon Treaty ratified mostly by Parliaments rather than referendum just created an even bigger groundswell of resentment. Politicians lost touch and didn't bring the people along with them. Even when Ireland voted against the Lisbon Treaty, they were forced to re-run it again to get the "correct" result.

I expect much handwringing from the French at this meeting.

Britain's application for membership during his lifetime.

He maintained that "Perfidious Albion" (historical epithet for Britain) was not really European at all. Only after his death was Britain successful in its 1975 membership bid.

...EU politicians also need to listen to "the expectations of the people."

Well, it's about time. The one lesson from this is leaders must listen to their own citizens and put their interests first.

EU has up to now taken a "We know better than those unwashed masses" approach to leadership.

I was wondering if they learned the lesson from the Brexit, because, if not, more countries will leave.

Let's keep flogging folks financially until they smile and thank us?

Greece was a crisis manufactured. Portugal, Spain, Italy - they all have problems created by austerity. Even though the UK was not as badly damaged, it, too, suffered at the hands of the "cut taxes/cut spending" morons who we exported across the pond.

Luckily, despite the presence of our "Just say no" Tea baggers, we never fell into the austerity trap to the extent that the EU did. Our budget caps were bad enough, and the cuts to social services caused (and cause) serious harm. But we survived without creating an even deeper mess.

Second on the agenda - immigration.

Third, What the FUCK do we do next?

The PIIGS need to leave the euro and devalue their old national currencies to stay competitive.

If they don't we will see more austerity and eventual revolt in those countries.