4th Price: Euro-Uniting Europe and more…

Written by Johan Bern.

Europe can never be truly united through formal decisions by political authorities nor by general, public referendums in the countries on the continent.

The real European union can only be achieved when the citizens of the various countries believe that they do share something, that they constantly do have something in common. The strategy, guidelines and general decisions would still come from above alright; the understanding however; which is crucial for the faith in the EU as a whole, must grow from the bottom and up.

Quite a few proposals have been processed through the EU-legislative bodies over the years. A lot of ideas have been launched, but endless compromises and an eager to satisfy everyone to such an extent that in fact nobody was satisfied has turned several visions and goals into washed-out shadows of the original proposals. A vision must unconditionally be followed up by a concrete, realistic implementation; if not it remains a vision, a dream without any anchorage in the reality.

An Euro-coin is by all means exactly such a concrete implementation; somewhat of a proof of evidence. It goes into every person's pocket, constantly reminding the bearer of its existence.

This little, light-weight piece of metal is in itself one of the heavier decisions ever made by the EU; simply because it is anything but a vague, washed-out compromise.

The Euro also represents something more, something deeper. The free movement of capital, the free trade across the borders of the EU-member states would most certainly be helped by the use of a common currency; thus leading to more stable and predictable government-, corporate- and private financing.

Today, extensive financial backup and do. experts do allow larger institutions to cope with, or even gain from, fluctuations between various currencies. The average citizen of the EU however does not have the same possibilities to benefit from the currency fluctuations. They neither have the financial backup nor the relevant know-how needed to take advantage of the situation; a fact that increases their frustration since the disadvantages appear even more obvious. Citizens of the EU are already doing quite a bit of trade across the borders and experience the struggle of commission fees, exchange rates calculated in different ways and general uncertainties in budgets. Such struggles might at a glance seem moderate, but they do arise frequently, and hit where it hurts most-in the wallet!

The minor business companies are of course also affected by the currency fluctuations and for them stability is the key word. Since they generally have narrow economic margins, especially in the early stages of their product(-s) business-cycle(-s), they do depend heavily on the accuracy of their forecasts.

A single stable currency would help improving forecasts, taking at least one load off the enterpriser's back, since his primary interest is product evaluation, not extensive business administration! Therefore he is not at all interested in political instability, which is sometimes impolitely described as exaggerated political interventions.

"I can take just about any crap from the authorities as long as I know the rules of the game, well ahead of time!" is an often heard argument.

Monetary politics does play a vital role in any country's politics; nationally and internationally.

An extensive measure which affects every corner of a country's business life, and therefore; no average politician would be too amused to give this useful tool up; yet that is what EMU is about.

The monetary policy of a country should be based on long-term, balanced, sound decisions; yet we all know that national pride, political opportunism and sheer prestige play roles just as influent as sound, objective decisions.

"Should we submit our most valuable (literally!) symbol of national sovereignty into the hands of distant anonymous bankers of the 'European Central Bank (ECB) '?"

"We've been elected to run the entire policy of our nation, including the appointing of officials to carry out those policies." "Even though we'd also appoint future officials for the CBE, the distance between the will of our voters and the actual policy carried out will grow, and that is not democratic evolution!"

The national officials would join in; claiming that the CBE would be too far away to realize the specific problems in each country as well as the national officials often recognize them.

So, how to convince politicians and officials in doubt that the appointed bankers of the CBE (i e the professional technocrats) should run the show?

By viewing it from a different angle: unemployment.

A cancer which slowly tears Europe up from inside.

Monetary control measures and the fight against unemployment have traditionally been contradictions of each other, especially since strict monetary control certainly involves restricted public spending and therefore less job opportunities in the public sector.

Lasting stable jobs can never be created by politicians however; they are created due to the ancient interaction of supply and demand on the market.

The politicians can, and should, supply stability and a good business climate for the enterprises; encouraging the companies to hire personnel, and the EMU is a good way to ensure that such stability is provided. The monetary policy should simply be in cohesion with the fight against unemployment; not in contradiction to it.

Those in debt and unemployment are not free; a circumstance that threatens the very foundation of the EU-the free movement(-s) across the state borders.