Euro Area

[rory_20_uk]

Yes, it's currently a bodge-job. Neither one nor the other, and by and large forced on the persons under it (who were admittedly in the main fine with it when everything appeared to be going well...)

The UK works as it has been there for so long. If the English for example were aware of how much it costs to hang on to Wales they might be far more peeved at sharing the union with them (let alone Northern Ireland). But it has been thus for so long that it is not thought of in purely fiscal terms any more.

For political Union, awkward questions have to be addressed: does Germany really want to be paying vast sums of money annually to the PIGS? How the hell will retirement ages / pension annuities / wages be set? Colonies? All lumped in together or all let go? Languages? All speak the one language whose country isn't involved? One capital? Sorting out all the technicalities - it might be cheaper and easier to have a European war over it (at least there are far fewer countries with a decent army than there are with a strident view over their "rights").

Easier to lurch along. After all, the EU technocrats have index-linked pensions, so no need to worry, eh?