Democracy unites or divides Europe

(novilist.hr)

The European Union, and then its "narrower" part, the eurozone, have recently been facing numerous blows from outside and inside, of a political and economic nature. The European economy has been scraping the bottom for a long time, struggling with low growth and high inflation. The biggest contributor to this is the crisis in the German economy, which is a combination of several factors: geopolitical, through the interruption of the flow of cheap Russian gas, and market, where the large Chinese market is no longer so safe for the sale of German goods. German car factories are closing or turning to the production of military equipment. German Chancellor Merz is implementing reforms to labor legislation and the pension system, so his popularity is falling drastically, while citizen dissatisfaction is growing. The shadow of the fact that America is refusing to be its defensive shield has generally fallen on Europe. Europe is being sought after economically, militarily and politically, which many Eurosceptic options are now taking full advantage of. These days, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, prompted by the results of polls for the German state elections, therefore cried out to her fellow citizens to preserve this democracy and realize how beautiful they actually live.

Namely, the radical right AfD seems to be winning in some eastern provinces, and according to polls, it is also leading in Berlin. If the AfD enters the government, says its leader Alice Weidel, it will immediately take Germany out of the Eurozone and Schengen, close the borders, and introduce a much stricter migration policy, along with deportation offices. Although AfD's coalition potential is predicted to be weak, it is clear that there are no more impossible scenarios. No one even believed that Great Britain would vote to leave the European Union, so it happened anyway. But this is another matter, Germany is the heart of the Eurozone, its monetary postulates of a stable currency and budgetary savings served as a model for managing the European Central Bank, which will now hold its September session in Berlin - right before the elections there, where the party that wants to expel the ECB from Germany is listed. It is clear that Germany's commotion over the euro would sink the currency, with consequences that would be worst for small countries that were among the last to join the eurozone, such as Croatia. However, the euro has been resented by many and many see it not as a guarantor of a better life, but as a currency that has only brought about price increases.

Along with "dexit" in Germany, there is also increasing talk of "frexit" in France, where the euro institutions are being criticized by the radical right Le Pen, who is not in favor of leaving the eurozone. The radical left Melenchon also criticizes the currency, but from an anti-capitalist perspective. The centrist parties are trying to create a bulwark, and Christine Lagarde from the ECB will reportedly come to their aid. Although the EU and the eurozone are working on further enlargement, they were dealt a major blow, primarily in terms of reputation, in recent days by the Icelandic referendum in which citizens decided not to continue accession negotiations for joining the EU, and not only because of fish. Despite Trump's increasing presence in the area, they still decided to say no to the Union. They want to remain independent and have their own currency, even if it means higher interest rates. Iceland also pursued its policy during the last global crisis, when it was among the few that did not use budget funds to bail out banks, but rather let them fail.

Enlargement is thus forced to focus on the countries of the Western Balkans, which are already fraught with many problems. As for the euro itself, after Croatia and Bulgaria adopted the euro, no one is really pushing themselves too hard in that waiting room anymore. All this suggests that the European branding as a common large market that enables the flow of people, goods and capital, with a single currency, is in a kind of crisis. Citizens increasingly perceive European institutions as a bureaucratized elite that keeps to itself in its ivory tower, deaf to the real problems of the people. Democracy has united Europe - let's hope it will not tear it apart.