Junckers vision: Equating unity with uniformity

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has said that the “wind is back in Europe’s sails” as the EU becomes more united and economic momentum picks up a year after the Brexit vote.

In his annual State of the Union speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Juncker sought to justify his stance on Britain’s decision to leave the EU, stating that the union was now stronger and more economically viable than a year ago.

He is correct in some respects, at least. Growth in the EU has outpaced the US in the past two years and unemployment is now at a nine-year low. But he and other power brokers in Brussels need a reality check.

The EU is not more united and there are growing camps of Eurosceptics, particularly in Poland and Hungary, prepared to follow Britain’s lead while the prospect of Turkey joining the bloc is growing more remote by the day.

The trouble is that Juncker seems to equate unity with uniformity, expecting that EU states big and small will comply with his vision for a post-Brexit EU of unified states.

Among his plans is a proposal to force smaller states like Ireland to accept higher taxation of online giants like Google.

Without the moderating influence of an economic powerhouse like the UK, smaller states could be particularly vulnerable in a post-Brexit world of corporate tax uniformity.

We must counter his ambitions or ignore them at our peril.