Europe and the Last 30 years – Consequences of Abandoning Qualitative Distinctions

    • Bologna October 2016
    • Presentation speakers
      • Gerhard Eichweber, Silva Plan / Value Group, Switzerland

    Abstract:

    In a reflection about what went wrong with the European Union – and what to change to get it right, this paper commemorates the effective Turnaround of the Basque Country as a region divided by national borders and confronts the original concepts and the potentials with paradigms contradicting these. Starting with a personal retrospective upon Europe and the European Union, the paper outlines the concepts prevailing during the passage from “European Community” to “European Union”, also Great Britain’s changing role in the Community. Observing economic crisis not as individual events, but as continuously increasing development of ever increasing frequency and amplitude, the paper also focuses upon the principal errors leading to such ever accelerating downturn and its consequences for society, in order to outline what, instead, as prerequisites, leads to sustainable development full employment and prosperity. Finally, the paper confronts two contradictory concepts verbally upheld by the European Union, and why the factual prevailing of the one over the other – Convergence over EU-Regio – is so much the cause of all evil, that policies enforced by the EU administration and its main backers can be seen as “Sabotage” to the European Project. Paralysing rules and regulations, which need to be halted and reversed, in order for Europe to fully realise its positive potentials and to serve as example of continuous prosperity and peace.