Mark Leonard, EU-phile director of the Centre for European Reform, has just written a remarkably revealing article contrasting the power of the EU and the US. There’s plenty in it to disagree with, but this, alas, is all too true:
“Europe’s power is easy to miss. Like an ‘invisible hand’, it operates through the shell of traditional political structures. The British House of Commons, British law courts, and British civil servants are still here, but they have all become agents of the European Union implementing European law. This is no accident. By creating common standards that are implemented through national institutions, Europe can take over countries without necessarily becoming a target for hostility.”
With the referendum on the EU’s ‘constitution’ coming up, these are words that need to be repeated again, and again, and again.
And let’s get some of that ‘hostility’ going too.
Via the EU Referendum Blog.