Europe

Ages ago - light years in blog terms in fact - Megan noticed The Economist pointing out that the euro has lessened the pressure that Belgian politicians might otherwise face to settle their differences and observes: Now that the European Union has taken over the currency, as well as many of the trade and customs functions of traditional federal governments, Belgium as a state suddenly looks a lot less necessary. One wonders if the current era of economic integration (assuming it continues) might not bring increasing political balkanization. Well, yes indeed. The same might be said of the United Kingdom. Moves towards greater regional autonymy across Europe are a direct response to the increasing power of the EU itself.

By which I mean to say that - surprise! - there's evidence that the apocalyptic scenario beloved on the nutty right that Europe will be living - if such an elevated term can be applied to our miserable future - under Sharia law sooner than you can whistle up the call to prayer is, well, a hysterical exaggeration. From the Financial Times: Jytte Klausen, a professor of politics at Brandeis University who studies European Muslims, says: “It’s being advocated by people who don’t consult the numbers. All these claims are really emotional claims.” Sometimes they are made by Muslim or far-right groups, who share an interest in exaggerating the numbers.

Anther snippet from Alastair Campbell's Diaries which, despite being partial in every sense of the word, are packed with crack for political junkies: Saturday December 15th 2001: TB [Blair] told me from the [EU] summit that Berlusconi was arguing that the food agency should go to Parma because of the cuisine there. TB said he really did seem to believe that it was a food agency, like a kind of glorified restaurant. The favourite was in Finland and Chirac had asked TB 'Why do we want to send the food agency to a country that only eats reindeer?' TB said somehow Europe seems to work, but if we are being frank, a lot of it is haggling, deals and people missing the point.