Benefits of a united EU are clear

The UK seeking to renegotiate its place in the EU does not take account of the interdependent relationship between member states, writes John Bruton

EUROPE’S needs and Europeans’ desires are at odds. At a time when strong, coordinated action is needed to stave off financial collapse in the European Union, the popular support that drove integration over the last six decades is waning.

After almost 70 years of peace, Europeans seem to have forgotten why unity was so important, indulging nationalist sentiment without regard for its potential consequences. At the same time, they fail to grasp that their economies are too closely interconnected for independent economic policy to work.