Yes, The National Governements claim to shrink their power, by shifting
responsabilities to the European council, to provincial govt's, and to
cities/communities (and in some cases federal govt to national govts like
in belgium, which has recently become a federal state incorporating two
seperate countries.) Instead it's just more people raising more taxes
(especially local, city taxes). They have even come up with "Euregional"
bodies, (overlapping national borders) i wonder what their infuence will
be. Europe is consolidating it's internal political power, problem is that
many national govt's are struggling not to give theirs up, where some
regional govt's are taking their chance, and are stimulating all kinds of
long forgotten local nationalism (Italy, Belgium etc, ) so for the next 25
years or so, we'll have at least two or three large institutions sucking us
dry...
In any case there's a real power transformation going on here. A united
Europe will probably realize itself, but a few national govt's may be able
to hang on to their power and cede, whereas some local nationalist
movements might form their own state, either within or outside the European
community...
My guess is a true European State, is another century or so away, when
everybody has learned to speak English, (or german ?).
question is, what will happen to those poor remaining monarchs ? ;-)
J. de Lyser
Brussels