Here’s an article that was posted in the U.K. newspaper The Telegraph:
In case you’d prefer not to read it, the main premise is that the European Commission has suggested banning automobiles from European cities to reduce carbon emissions by 2050. They’ve also suggested that 50% of journeys above 186 miles be taken by train instead of by airplane. There has been some debate as to whether this story is actually true, but as the author of the article agrees, it certainly is “draconian.”
The whole idea of the European Union is rather interesting. It unites its members under a common monetary and political policy, but will it work? We’ve seen recently that difficulties in the PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain) have had devastating economic impacts throughout the region. Additionally, these are countries that have different languages, belief systems, and values and have more or less been fighting each other for hundreds of years.
This article highlights British resistance to continued integration into the European Union. For one, they have not switched to the Euro but have kept the British Pound as their currency. Reading through some of the comments, it appears they’re not too happy about a central government in Brussels making radical decisions such as this and then imposing it on the EU member states. Americans and Britons both value independence and I don’t believe a measure such as this would ever be successful.
The future of the European Union seems to be in question. It appears to be a constant struggle between the high-minded intelligence striving to create a post-nation-state “utopia” and the down-to-earth people who still have pride in their individual nations.
