AH, THE European Union. The finest dispute-resolution mechanism mankind has concocted. The ultimate triumph of bureaucracy over the battlefield. Where else can dozens of governments of varying size, wealth and temper manage their disputes so effectively, quietly grinding out compromises that are greater than the sum of their parts? For that is how it works, is it not?
No, it is not. At least not when the EU’s budget is involved. In a few months the club’s governments will begin formal talks on the next “multiannual financial framework” (MFF), a drab formulation that conceals the diplomatic rancour its negotiation will spawn. The sums are not large: this year the EU will spend €145bn ($177bn), about 1% of its GDP. But the means of the MFF’s construction guarantee that blood will be spilled. Within countries there are prime ministers to mediate spending disputes among squabbling department heads, but the EU has no primus inter pares; the budget must be approved...Continue reading
from Europe http://ift.tt/2rqFtfc
via https://ifttt.com/ IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment