Turning the European dream into a nightmare

WITHOUT the agreement of Greece to the programmes supported by the EU and IMF, the conditions for Greek citizens will become much more painful, particularly for the most vulnerable.

The consequences will be impossible to foresee. At first glance, that sentence sounds like the rantings of Adolf Hitler over 70 years ago. They sent a shudder through my very soul. In fact, they were the exact words of the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, at the crisis meeting of the G20 countries before the recent EU summit in Cannes. How dare you, Mr Barroso. You have said too much. You should resign for uttering such ill-considered words. You are out of touch with the plain people of Europe (who pay you very well to serve them properly). On November 8, I read another report from your European correspondent. Mr Barroso now says that the EU must use all of its available powers to help save the euro and that this may include proposals for treaty change. Is Mr Barroso showing his true colours or is he flying kites? Let us draw back from the garden path to perdition. Let us not be led blindly down the road towards a rerun of the worst excesses of history. The European dream must not turn into a nightmare. The alarm clock is ticking. Will we hear it ringing?

Michael Mernagh