‘Fears of a euro breakup
have reached the point where the European Central Bank feels compelled
to issue a legal analysis of what would happen if a country tried to
leave monetary union. “Recent
developments have, perhaps, increased the risk of secession (however
modestly), as well as the urgency of addressing it as a possible
scenario,” said the document, entitled “Withdrawal and Expulsion from
the EU and EMU: Some Reflections.”
The author makes a string
of vaulting, Jesuitical, and mischievous claims, as EU lawyers often
do. Half a century of ever-closer union has created a “new legal order”
that transcends a “largely obsolete concept of sovereignty” and imposes
a “permanent limitation” on the states’ rights.
Those who suspect that
the European Court has the power pretensions of the medieval papacy
will find plenty to validate their fears in this astonishing text. Crucially,
the author argues that eurozone exit entails expulsion from the
European Union as well. All EU members must take part in EMU (except
Britain and Denmark, with opt-outs). This
is a warning shot for Greece, Portugal, Ireland, and Spain. If they
fail to marshal public support for draconian austerity, they risk being
cast into Icelandic oblivion. Or for Greece, back into the clammy
embrace of Asia Minor.’
The original pulled article in the Telegraph was located here…
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