The EU: "Either float or sink together"

After hiatus adventures in Greece, Egypt, Italy, and the rest of Europe, the JSBP hooligans settled back into school with a lecture on the European Union. Mr. Andras Baneth, a Hungarian native currently living in Belgium, works for the European Commission. He walked us through the strengths and weaknesses of the Union - a conversation that ended up, as Mr. Baneth said, "pretty gloomy."

The EU is an international organization, comparable to the United Nations, where governments cooperate on an equal footing. It also acts as a sort of United States of Europe, where multiple nations are organized under one entity. The organization doesn't interfere with language or culture of each individual member-state, but facilitates economic ties within European nations. The basis of EU integration lies in trust, as Mr. Baneth pointed out. It was born from the ashes of World War II, in order to discourage future conflicts and encourage the sense of unity.

The EU's inception began by coordinating the European cold and steel industries. Making France and Germany interdependent in the fields that produce war materials would create, for the first time, a real hesitancy of war. Both nations would have capital invested in the other - to go to war would be a sort of economic suicide. Even putting the two age-old enemies aside, other nations would be more likely to cooperate. The relative free-flow of travel within the EU allows for an increase in tourism, which lets cities flourish. Bad blood between nations would stave off that flow, and choke the tide of tourism. To enter into conflict with another nation would be to risk the economic ties invested - might as well go to war within your own country.

Since the Berlin Wall came down, there have been no wars between the member-states. As Baneth said, "the history of Europe is the history of wars." In a region where factions have been warring for centuries, it's an enormous accomplishment to have relative peace for the past twenty years. I was incredibly intrigued by this statistic. Despite the economic gamble, I would hypothesize that some nations would still risk going to war. We have been taught in our history class about the intense boundary struggle Hungary and the surrounding nations have endured for centuries. Hungarians and Slovakians are notoriously bitter towards each other. We have only learned about a small piece of Europe's puzzle, and we can already understand why there is still such tension between nations. To appeal to each nation's individual goals and concerns, to coordinate these factions with such bloody histories - it's such a monumental accomplishment.

The European Union isn't all positive, though. They have been heavily criticized for the implementation of a shared currency. In theory, the euro is ingenious. Trade between nations would be even easier, because one euro in Greece carries the same weight as one euro in France. Nothing gets lost in translation. In reality, however, it has created an enormous economic crisis. During my hiatus trip to Greece, Nell and I discussed the nation's current state with many locals. One taxi driver explained that once the euro was introduced, everyone began to struggle. He held up a water bottle - "On Sunday, this was 87 drachma. One day later, with the euro, it was 193 drachma." I cannot imagine suddenly changing our entire monetary system - suddenly paying double for everyday necessities. As a student, there is no doubt that I would be unable to sustain the same lifestyle, let alone keep my head above water. I can see where the agitation, where the fury, where the unrest in Greece comes from. Most of the people we met work two jobs just to keep up. It's an unsustainable system, if you want your people to flourish. I was extremely intrigued when Baneth mentioned that Greece cheated its way into the European Union. They falsified documents in order to meet the requirements to become a member-state. This seems like such a foolish mistake. Initially, Greece benefited from the lie. They were able to begin making trade ties with other EU nations, boosting their economy. In the long-term, though, the requirements were put in place for a reason. Nations need to be stable enough to equally participate in these relationships. Their economies need to be stable enough to support the change to the euro. By falsifying documents, Greece is responsible for their own downfall. The self-made crisis is pulling other nations down now. Germany has trade and bank capital invested in Greece - to let them fail would be to fail themselves. That's an enormous downfall of the European Union. Like Baneth said, it's both a blessing and a curse "to be in the same boat: you either float together or you sink together."
I honestly enjoyed Baneth's lecture - I would be interested to see what his PowerPoint contained. He adapted well to the loss of technology, though, and really engaged us by allowing for questions. To learn more about the European Union's history and get a quick overview of it's goals and future, visit the BBC News' page.