Ireland: 1992 and the 'New' Europe

Some Reflections

Abstract

Integration has been central to the post-war European experience. For almost 50 years Europeans have been trying to remodel their anarchic State system and dilute the nationalism that has sustained it. From the ashes of World War II to the present day Jean Monet' s dream of an integrated Europe has emerged quietly intact. At times the ideal of an integrated Europe has proved mere fantasy and illusion. The persistence of the nation-State and the concepts of sovereignty, national identity and economic independence have not looked kindly upon European Union. Inflation, recession and growing social and economic inequalities have helped compound the wounds of disenchantment. Since the Signing of the Treaty in 1957, the Community has evolved along a path punctuated by varying degrees of success and failure.