Europe at a crossroads.
For decades those within the EU took rising standards of living for granted, the EU was seen as the driving force behind this economic advancement. The crash of 2007 and subsequent fallout has questioned this orthodoxy.
Europe is now at a crossroads, disintegration and break up down one pathway, or an injection of reinvigoration, reform and continued progress down the other..
The European project, for want of a better phrase emerged from a broken continent, free movement of trade, goods, people and services was not just an economic aspiration, it was a desire to create equality and maintain long lasting peace in a continent rebuilding from the ravages of war.
The popularity of the EU has plummeted in recent years, even in countries that have for long been the most ardent of supporters. The stuttering recovery since 2007 coupled with the refugee crisis have no easy solution, and these problems are being laid firmly at the doorstep of the EU.
The inability of the EU to reboot the Eurozone problem countries has created resentment in the populous among the more prosperous northern member states, where an attitude of: “this isn’t what we signed up for” prevails in everyday discourse.
Standing on the opposite banks of the proverbial river of discontent are the Mediterranean countries that feel unjustly treated by the draconian measures imposed from the European Central Bank.
All the while the boat waiting to sail both parties away to a European paradise sits at the docks its passengers unwilling to jump aboard for fear of where it may take them.
Although bound to the EU by treaties, regulations and directives, each country is involved in a bizarre indulgence in faux protectionism. And it seems the original ideals of the EU are being drowned out by a surge in nationalism.
The refugee crisis has exacerbated this protectionist sentiment as each country within and outside the Schengen agreement circles their wagons in an attempt to repel the continued onslaught of refugees seeking sanctuary in the EU, citing a threat to European values as justification for their basic lack of human compassion.
The ever-burgeoning bureaucracy of the EU is in need of reform, the single market that countries voted for in the 20th Century is far removed from the all encompassing behemoth that the EU has become.
There is also truth in the statement that the Eurozone should have planned better the financial framework for its proposed success, and whether we like it or not the refugee crisis will not disappear overnight.
I would proffer one does not solve these problems by putting up the fences and looking inwards. European countries have thrived when they look outwards beyond their borders, now is not the time to hide away in isolationism, for by coming together, united we can overcome our adversities.
And what is the prosperity enjoyed in Europe if it is but for the few, in the decade following the Second World War Europe embarked on a project of relocation, rehousing and assimilation of refugees on a scale far greater than it faces today. Our ideals and values count for nothing if we shut out those in need and turn a blind eye.