EU’s Real Brake Isn’t Britain but Franco-German Impasse

Britain’s prime minister has negotiated a deal, carving out exemptions to its membership with the European Union, and analysts wonder if other members might also try their own negotiations which could “ultimately lead to a disintegration of the union,” reports Paul Taylor for Reuters. Taylor adds that more challenging than Britain’s possible exit “is a long-running Franco-German impasse on how to make the euro zone stronger and more sustainable, reconciling two radically different economic and political cultures.” EU members are divided over how to manage high debt, refugees fleeing the Middle East, and cross-border travel and unemployment restrictions. Since the eurocrisis, Taylor explains, “reforms to reinforce economic governance and mutualism risk have stalled” Germans prefer enforced fiscal discipline while the French favor a common budget and taxation schedule, with more joint borrowing and entitlement programs, but without EU oversight. Nations are increasingly polarized, internally and with one another, and the many divisions won’t be resolved by Britain leaving the union or staying. – YaleGlobal