2. The Elephant in the Brexit Room (TEITBR) - Dreaming of Unity in Europe

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Europe has always had issues internally with its neighbours. Whether it was England and France/Spain, Spain with Italy, Italy with Spain, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and France, Norway and Sweden... we just have not got on together.

Sure, we have always traded, and that is good. We have always travelled to each others countries, to learn about the other ways to live, to pass around ideas, to generally co-exist. All that worked. As soon as anyone thought about 'take over'... all hell has broken loose. The list is endless, but to name a few:

- The Romans

- The 100 years war

- The Napoleonic Wars

- World Wars 1 & II

All these have resulted in the upheaval that has caused europe grief and time required to heal. Essentially all of western europe, for at least the last 2000 years, has tried to prove that one country is more powerful than the others..... and failed.

At the end of WW1, the Austro-Hungarian empire was broken down, and Germany was made to suffer horrendous economic hardships, to pay for the damage caused. This led, almost directly, straight to a set of circumstances whose outcome was WWII.

So, in order for that not to happen again, after WWII it was decided to try to set up a trading bloc, to build co-operation within these warring countries, and so stop the conflicts, that now bring the whole world into  play. A side effect for the USA was to help build a buffer zone against the Eastern Bloc (Russia et all), during the period of what became known as the 'Cold War'. On the Russian side, they formed the 'Warsaw Pact', of the eastern bloc countries, as a counteraction to NATO. So Europe was turned into a big buffer zone, between the USA and the USSR.

Also, after WW1, in order to stop further conflicts, and to resolve disputes via negotiation, the League of Nations was set up. This failed in the 1930s, primarily as it relied on the members to supply the relevant forces to settle disputes that could not be arbitrated. However, as it was these members who failed to arbitrate, then this palpably could not work.

So, after WWII, the League was replaced with the United Nations. Further to this, in 1949 NATO was set up as a military alliance that would help protect all member states.

As a consequence, Western Europe has remained relatively peaceful and prosperous. Those two organisations have helped preserve a European peace, and have helped in other areas as well. Like all large organisations, there have been failures, but also successes. Western Europe has had little military action, apart from the notable exception of Yugoslavia, now Serbia and Croatia. However the existence and help of those two organisations and their member states, did help to contain that conflict.

So it would be fair to say, that for 70+ years the majority of Europe has been able to lead a peaceful existence, while trading within themselves, and with outside nations, guarded by the UN and NATO. As per the original idea, all that is required for a tentative peace, is to enable free trade between the nations, nothing more and nothing less.


These 70 years included a time when the EEC/EFTA et all were being built, but citizens around Europe freely moved, without issue. All they needed was a passport. People in Belgium would regularly drive to Germany to do their weekly shop, the British could start and run companies in Europe, people could buy houses.... we could all do what we do now, with a minimal production of paperwork. So we had peace, and we could trade, and move around, and go on holiday, without the interference of a large group of so called politicians enabling us.... that is until the late 1990s.

For the record, I know this, as I lived in Brussels from 1963-1964, aged 6-7, where my father was working selling telephone exchanges to the Europeans and the Middle East. we took our English car, bought a house, went to a Belgian school (where, incidentally, I asked them to speak to me in French... so I learnt a language in 2-3 weeks without a translator), and we freely travelled to France, The Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany, with nothing but English Passports. At the same time, my future wife (yes.. I was a toy boy) had an interior design company in Spain and Paris. So this is something else the politicos say they have enabled... while not actually enabling very much.

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