Current Events & Trends: A tighter fiscal union in Europe?
Attempts to solve the ongoing eurozone crisis could eventually lead to a restructuring or partial breakup of the 27-nation European Union.
On Dec. 5, 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported: "The leaders of France and Germany...issued an ultimatum to the 27 European Union governments, saying they must decide by week's end whether they will accept greater central control over their national budgets—effectively ceding some of their fiscal sovereignty" ("Europe at Crossroads," Dec. 6, 2011).
And remarkably, the single currency and European project were "rescued" by Friday morning, Dec. 9. As the Associated Press reported that day: "European leaders agreed...to redefine their continent—hoping that by joining their fiscal fortunes they might stop a crippling debt crisis, save the euro currency and prevent worldwide economic chaos. Only one country said no: Britain. It will risk isolation while the rest of the continent plots its future...[The agreement] would force countries to submit their budgets for central review and limit the deficits they can run" ("Europe Forges Fiscal Union, Sees Way Out of Crisis").
Many analysts see this as a monumental development. Ian Traynor wrote in The Guardian: "When the dust settles, Friday 9 December may be seen as a watershed, the beginning of the end for Britain in Europe. But more than that—the emergence for the first time of a cold new Europe in which Germany is the undisputed, pre-eminent power imposing a decade of austerity on the eurozone as the price for its propping up the currency" ("As the Dust Settles, a Cold New Europe With Germany in Charge Will Emerge," Dec. 9, 2011).
Others see ratification of treaty amendments by the rest of the EU to be unlikely. As Gideon Rachman wrote in the Financial Times: "The outcome of the Brussels meeting is much more likely to end up as a footnote in the history books than a bold new chapter...As economies worsen, voters are likely to revolt. Even under current circumstances, there are huge doubts about whether [the Dec. 9] EU agreement will ever come into force...
"Both the Swedish and the Dutch governments currently lack a clear parliamentary majority—and need the votes of opposition parties to get the new agreement through. But in both countries the main opposition party has already said it will reject the new treaty. Ratification in Denmark, Finland and the Czech Republic is also far from certain" (Dec. 13, 2011).
Yet if the desired fiscal union is foiled by a few countries, we may well see increased calls for a two-speed Europe or even a partial breakup, with those EU countries that want closer integration pressing on without the others. (Sources: Financial Times, The Guardian [both London], Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: January - February 2012
Course Content
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
Tom Robinson
Tom is an elder in the United Church of God who works from his home near St. Louis, Missouri as managing editor and senior writer for Beyond Today magazine, church study guides and the UCG Bible Commentary. He is a visiting instructor at Ambassador Bible College. And he serves as chairman of the church's Prophecy Advisory Committee and a member of the Fundamental Beliefs Amendment Committee.
Tom began attending God's Church at the age of 16 in 1985 and was baptized a year later. He attended Ambassador College in both Texas and California and served for a year as a history teacher at the college's overseas project in Sri Lanka. He graduated from the Texas campus in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in theology along with minors in English and mass communications. Since 1994, he has been employed as an editor and writer for church publications and has served in local congregations through regular preaching of sermons.
Tom was ordained to the ministry in 2012 and attends the Columbia-Fulton, Missouri congregation with his wife Donna and their two teen children.
