European Union may break up like Soviet Union: Analyst

Press TV has conducted an interview with Ian Williams, an economic expert from New York, about the warning made by European Council President Donald Tusk on the specter of break-up that is haunting Europe.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Tusk says that European leaders failed to notice that ordinary people, the citizens of Europe, do not share their Euro-enthusiasm. And he also said instead, the masses are pushing towards more of a ‘Euro-skepticism’, your thoughts as to why?

Williams: Well, I don’t think that they’re opposed to a united Europe. I think most Europeans are very happy to be part of a Europe where you can travel without ... most people have been able to travel without passport and where there is an open boundary. What they are against is the type of dictation by the German Central Bank, which led the Greek crisis. And what we’re now seeing in France is where that the prime minister not at the behest of Europe , I might add, is actually trying to reverse the types of labor reform that the European Union used to stand for. So, at the moment, there’s a lot of people what that we get out of it in return. And Donald Tusk sounds like he’s more of part of the problem than the part of the solution. He and people like him from the conservative wing have wanted the rights to mistreat their workers in their own way in each country. And like him and Tony Blair, they opposed the extension of the European social charter to their countries. The parts of Europe which Tony Blair fought hard against were the ones that give more rights to workers, gave more leave, gave more time, more consultation rights. That’s what Francois Hollande is now reversing, because basically he’s following in Tony Blair’s footsteps. And this is not the European project as many people in Europe understood it, which was to ensure a level playing field for labor as well as per capita.

Press TV: So, what could EU states do to counter this Eurosceptisim that Tusk is speaking of?

Williams: Well, one would be to combat him in Poland and other east European countries, which are introducing xenophobia and chauvinism back into the European Union. The second is to make sure that the European Union does actually attend to the wishes and the wills of ordinary workers. I mean, once again France, your previous segment shows this, here we have somebody who’s ignoring his own party –a president and prime minister ignoring their own party - ignoring the wishes of the majority of the people and railroading through anti-social and anti-social agenda on behalf of the few. And it’s precisely that type of behavior, which led to the upsurge of Jeremy Corbin in Britain, Bernie Sanders in America and is now leading to riots on the streets of Paris and the other places. These people are the ones that are calling their European project into question and quite rightfully, there is another European project and I think people will respond to that. Here are the governments and the leaders can actually remember that they are there to carry out the will of the ordinary people not the will of non-elected bankers.

Press TV: Tusk also urged leaders to confront anti-EU forces. He said, “the specter of a break-up is haunting Europe.” Do you think that the EU is slowly unraveling or not?

Williams: No, I think it’s going to be more catastrophic. If Brexit occurs then that gives the Germans and Hollande and his like untrammeled run through the European institutions for the foreseeable future. It weakens the opposition. So, I really think it’s going to be like one of those icebergs off the Antarctic, it’s going to carve and it’s going to disintegrate quite rapidly. But otherwise, I think they will stay together. If it does fall, like the fall of the Soviet Union, it’ll be quick, sharp and nasty.

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