Thomas Fazi is one of the sharpest journalist around reporting on and analyzing european affairs and globalism. He writes for Unherd and CompactMag as well as on his substack.
He has authored several books, among others “The Battle For Europe - How An Elite Has Hijacked A Continent And We Can Get It Back,” and with Toby Green, “The Covid Consensus. The Global Assault on Democracy and the Poor — A Critique from the Left.”
A transcript in French of Thomas Fazi’s will be published soon in a separate article.
French Invaders is a co-op between Renaud Beauchard and L’Eclaireur.
French Invaders est une coproduction de Renaud Beauchard et L’Eclaireur.
The European Union is not a sovereign state but an intergovernmental organization gathering as per today, 27 sovereign states operating a single market where goods, services, capital and people (people) flow freely. To do so, these 27 members states are implementing common policies leading to common laws and regulations. Some even went fruther with a single currency, the Euro. As per today 20 states have adopted the euro has their currency.
Supernational institutions were created to manage all that:
The European Council is the decision making body of the EU. It comprises heads of stated and/or heads of governement of all members states. EU Foreign policy and defense matters are the sole prerogative of the Council, keeping in mind that theses matters remain overwelmingly with member states. Again, the EU is intergovernmental in essence.
The European Commission is the European bureaucracy. It has no decision making power. Its role is to propose EU legislation and ensures that once adopted it is enforced throughout the EU Ursula von der Leyen is not the President of the EU. She is the contract civil servant that heads the European bureaucracy.
The European Parliament is a makeshitf Parliament. It exists for the sole purpose of providing a flavour of democracy. The people member state elects its representatives, who are representing their state and not the Eu. It has no real decision making powers but a blocking one on precises issues.
The Eurogroup is the informal monthly meeting of finance ministers of the members states participating in the single currency, the Euro. Yet monetary policy is decided by the European central bank and its board of governors.
Now you’re thinking it sounds like - mind our french - a clusterfuck? You may be right.
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