Are you just disappointed by Europe?

[British]

I was born in London, and I live there presently. I love Europe, it's so diverse, so different: Europe is beautiful and I adore it (if it were a freakin' food I would eat it breakfast, lunch, dinner). But I am so disappointed by the EU. What the hell were we thinking?! 1970s, the European Economic Area (EEC); a FANTASTIC idea. Free-trade is essential for a vast, thriving economy. Britain became richer, more powerful; the EEC quickly became, and remains, the largest economy in the world, surpassing both the US and China.

But it was the first step towards disaster. Soon, the EU was formed. Soon, laws were being passed in Strasbourg but being implemented in London, Glasgow, Manchester, England, Scotland, Wales. Britain. Then we are nearly dragged in the Eurozone. It started off pretty well. A common currency used all over the continent (remind you of a similar currency around 0AD?). But people knew that you couldn't have monetary union without political union. The London stock market went BALLISTIC. The EU fucked the whole system up.

Now, 2012, European countries are paying Greece, Italy, Spain money; bail-out cash. The governments kept spending, the Eurozone didn't work. The value went from £1=1.15€ to £1=1.3€ in a year. So much unemployment and poverty. Communism nearly took over in Greece at their election.

What do you think? Are you in the Eurozone, are you observing? What do you think of the EU? Should it be replaced with the original EEC?

[Jordan]

I live in africa ....its impossible to be disappointed with a great place like that despite its financial issues. many africans and probably some middle easterners would wish they could live in europe and not the worst two places on earth

[Cohen Sommer]

I'm Canadian, my mother is german, from Kiel, and we both live in Portugal for quite a while.
Portugal is one of the bailed-out countries, and I must say, that people think all countries wanted to be "bailed-out". Quite wrong. Northern Europeans, like my own german family, think that in Portugal people is carrying their luxurious life at the sun while they pay the bill, but it's not like that at all.
No one can imagine how though Troika is in order to demand not only the money they lent, but height interests also. Portuguese people are quite understanding, but there are thing that are going too deep.
Eu's popularity fell sharply among the portuguese and most think they should leave both Euro zone and EU, and I agree with them.
If you look at Portugal's economical history in the past 25 years, you will notice 2 big bumps in it's economy. The first shortly after it's entry in EEC (where big economies like UK profited the most), and another one just 2 years after Portugal's entrance in the Euro Zone. It's obvious that Portugal had a Social boost in EU, but it's economy surely didn't get better with either institution, quite the opposite.

[Andrew87]

The arrangement Norway has is the one that should be across the EU!

[Poseidone]

Eu is still calibrating its istitutions... Creating a true eu it's not a easy task...