Sunday, June 13, 2010

Maastricht Treaty

In 1993, the Maastricht Treaty went into effect forming the European Union. The EU was formed to create a single market economy and hopefully prevent some of the problems that lead up to World War I and WWII. The fall of the Soviet Union and reunification of Germany spurred on the goal of creating a European state that would do away with borders and spreading wealth more evenly amongst nations to dissuade future conflicts. However, long standing feuds over languages and cultures run deep. The economic collapse of Greece has caused some of the European Union members to rethink the concept. Whilst out attention is turned to things economic, apparently in Belgium old disagreements are threatening to turn Belgium into two separate countries. The European Union tries to pretend the centuries of conflicts in Europe don't matter. Apparently to the Walloons and Flemish, it still does.

Flemish Separatists Win in Belgium - NYTimes.com

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