Europe is Bleeding Cash

The European Union is a supranational federation based in Brussels. France and Germany have pushed the expansion of the EU into more and more impoverished regions of Europe, and even Asia (Turkey). But why are France and Germany is such a hurry to expand their control? Do they understand how expensive this project is becoming?

People in Luxembourg have on average over eight times the spending power of people in EU member-states-to-be Romania and Bulgaria, Eurostat says in a survey showing startling contrasts in wealth in the new European Union.

The study, which shows the Grand Duchy enjoys a GDP/capita level of 251 percent of the EU average while the Balkan duo have 33 and 34 percent, matches popular perception in western Europe that Romanian and Bulgarian villages are a far cry from London or Paris.

Of the old EU15 countries, Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark and Austria lead the pack, while Slovenia and the Czech republic stand out in the new EU10, having already leapfrogged Portugal in 2005 and beginning to catch up on Greece.

But the biggest new member state, Poland, is moving more slowly and still has personal wealth levels just half the EU average, with only Latvia faring worse out of the 2004 enlargement round countries.

EU-candidate Croatia has a similar standard of living to Poland and is better off than Romania and Bulgaria.

But Turkey trails far behind at just 28 percent of the EU average GDP/capita, in a reminder of how much EU structural aid cash the country of 80 million people would require if it joined quickly.

Source.

The problem with adding poorer countries to the EU is the structural requirements for aid built-in to the EU framework. While eventually the Czech Republic and Slovenia may achieve parity with some of the richer EU nations, it is likely that Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey never will. By adding these countries, the EU is in essence grafting national slums of perpetual dependency to the EU budgetary burden. Who will this benefit, and who will it harm? Why the hurry?

Hat tip Modern Tribalist.