Translated material
Expert opinion
Euro versus European unity
What is real Europe and where does it end? In Russia, where the topic of civilizational belonging has been exciting minds for centuries, such a formulation of the question will not surprise anyone. But in Sweden...Is Sweden even Europe? This rhetorical exclamation from the French newspaper Liberation to the unanimous Swedish “no” to the single currency (at the referendum last Sunday. - Ed. ) causes satisfaction among the opponents of the euro: we voted correctly. These builders of a superstate are ready to classify everyone who refuses to play by their rules as Asians! The hint that a real European is not the one who lives in the Old World, but the one who uses the euro, typical arrogance of the European authorities.
When the Danes voted against the Maastricht Treaty to transform the community into a union in 1992, it brought the entire European project to the brink of collapse. The same thing happened in 2001, when Ireland rejected the Nice Treaty and blocked the expansion process. In both cases, all of Europe rushed to convince the recalcitrant, and soon the recalcitrants reconsidered their views.
The Swedish “no” formally does not change anything - the EU continues to develop in depth and breadth. However, psychologically the current result is very important. It will undoubtedly influence voters in countries that in the foreseeable future may also be asked to speak out about integration - Denmark and the UK (joining the euro) and Norway (membership in the EU). They will simply be afraid to bring the issue up for public discussion until the economic and political consequences of the Swedes’ refusal become clear.
As the British Financial Times notes, the eurozone will now have to demonstrate brilliant success to convince the undecided. If the Euro-enthusiasts are right and Sweden really slides to the sidelines of the dynamically developing United Europe, then the integrators will have arguments. So far, however, the situation is the opposite - macroeconomic indicators outside the euro zone are better than inside.
The prophecy of Baroness Thatcher, who considered Britain's entry into the European Union to be a major mistake, was looming. “The style of functioning of the European Union is an incredible mixture of authoritarianism, bureaucracy and interventionism, on the one hand, and compliance, lack of incentives and inefficiency, on the other” - this is how the “iron lady” characterizes the main organization of the Old World. According to Mrs. Thatcher, a free trade zone covering the whole of Europe and not requiring supranational structures is sufficient for development. Or better yet, reorient yourself to the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), where the true spirit of liberalism reigns. In the Swedish “no,” the British Daily Telegraph has already discerned a prerequisite for this - countries that are not included in the euro zone can begin to form an alternative club that works closely with the United States.
One way or another, the process of differentiation of the United Europe, identifying its integration core and periphery, will accelerate. And if earlier the periphery was understood as the lagging countries of Eastern and Central Europe, which are dragged forward by the Western European locomotive, then the “periphery”, led by Sweden and England, will drag away whomever it wants.
Will changes within the European Union affect Russia? If friction increases, then yes. Serious divergences of interests between different groups of countries (north - south, core - periphery, new - old members) may force some of them to turn to Moscow as an additional trump card in the internal struggle. The European Union's Northern (initiated by Sweden and Finland) and Eastern (initiated by Poland) Dimensions programs are directed specifically at Russia; funds are being extracted from Brussels funds for it. On the other hand, even if the European Union weakens, plunging into numerous internal problems, it will still remain an order of magnitude more powerful than Russia in economic terms, and it will not lack the political will to promote its interests outside. This means that you will have to play by its rules, even if in the EU itself they do not suit everyone.