Europe Day or Schuman Day

Carin Jämtin, the social democratic press secretary, wanted to have a Muslim holiday in Sweden the other day. She apparently changed her mind. Perhaps she realized that a holiday for the peace of Europe would be more appropriate. Wolfgang Münchau at the Financial Times claimed on Sunday that Europe has a political crisis, not a debt crisis. You need a political union for having a financial union. Today Herman van Rumpuy has a column in the Svenska Dagbladet, one of Sweden's top dailies.

When I started out reading up on the EU project a few years ago I began idealistically with the idea of a United States of Europe with English as a common second language with TV channels and everything. As the years went by I realized, however, that this seems to be unrealistic even if top information recently claimed that its going to be ever closer union or large problems.

Having economics as the measure rod comparative history nowadays stratifies Europe in a way that complicates the concept of an ever closer union. Many don't want to bail out economies that do not perform. If you want an ever closer union it is not possible to have the economy as the value measurement. The political crisis Münchau is talking about is depending on this problem: what is important? In a union where defense is not important you wonder why the economy would be. The economy is today's defense, perhaps. Van Rompuy, however, states that Europe is the best place to live. Not the most progressive. It is strange that this would not mean the same thing. The same man is pessimistic on European innovation, though.

A holiday for the peace in Europe would be a good thing, however. I would not celebrate a Muslim holiday if it would be instated. Judeo-Christianism is more than a religion for me. It formed the basis for Western Civilization. Therefore our present holidays should be safe.