In the midst of Greeceās first financial collapse that shook the European Union one year ago, University of 91³Ō¹Ļ Political Scientist predicted then that the financial crisis was only a symptom of a much deeper issue.
In his recent book ā,ā Rosato warns of a troubled future for the entire European Union (EU).
āThe Europeans failed to build a military to challenge the United States, despite lofty rhetoric to the contrary,ā says Rosato. āThey failed to pass a constitution. And they have been slowly eviscerating the single market and single currency.ā
āSimply put,ā he says, āthe European Communityās best days are long goneāand there is worse to come.ā
Fast forward to June 2011: Greece is once again on the brink of financial collapse, citizens are rioting against austerity measures, and Prime Minister Papandreou is considering resignation.
āCrises like the one in Greece are virtually inevitable given the structure of the EU,ā Rosato says. āIndeed, most economists agree that the only way to avert further crises is for the Europeans to create a European super state. If Europe looked more like the United States of America, then events like the Greek crisis would not arise.ā
āThe problem is that there is no appetite for building a super state in Europe,ā Rosato says, because the big driver of unionāthe Soviet Unionādied 20 years ago.
āIn retrospect, the failure to build a European military force, the failed constitution and the fraying of the economic union are all evidence that no one wants to build a āUnited States of Europeā.āWhat this means is that āthere are going to be more crises, perhaps in larger economies like Italy, Spain and Portugal down the road,ā Rosato explains. āThe EU may survive the Greek crisis, but when one of the bigger economies runs into trouble all bets are off.ā
Media advisory: Professor Rosatoās comments may be used in whole or in part. He can be reached at 574-631-0378 or srosato@nd.edu