Toddy,

You are right that we are going through a rough situation that could endanger the EU strenghthening progress. However, the situation here is not bad, nor it seems to become so,mainly because of Euro..

Yes, because of the fact that the dollar has become so expensive, our exports have benefit from it, while we have only suffered from it because of petrol (rising prices paid in more expensive dollars).

Euro weakness has made our firms to be more competitive towards american and asian products in the market we sell 90% of our products - Europe.

This has preseved greatly our GNP grow within this global crises. As soon as petrol prices go down,and inflation moderates, we will have more drops of interest rates, and the GNP will recover (with it, employment, tax incomes, et al).

And the crises do not hit the same everywhere, the USA didn't suffer the recent Asia crises the way Korea or Thailand did, the mexican crise affected much more to the USA than to any other developed country, ...

The fact that France, Germany, Spain, Italy's languages are losing position in the world share of languages, that their culture (France) is americanizing, which is true, and so on, has nothing to do with the EU.

All the european countries have lost most of their colonies, those are only unwanted and expensive remaints of the past.

The french need to realize (their politicians do) that they are not a power of the same size as the States, the same happens with the U.K.. We spanish have been a second class power in Europe since Franco destroyed the country in 1936/39, so we have had a rude falling, but these countries have been slowly declining for a long time, and I think many people there don't know what power they have in the world.
They still think they are individual powers, they don't realize they are to be followers of the USA or partners in the only other power that can negotiate at the same level in Europe, the EU.

I agree that if a country left the EU today it would be a terrible menace to its future.

BTW, I will pay attention to Aznar moves, as suggested, but not to the King, since our constitution makes him Commander in Chief of all our armies and little more, he is mainly a public relations (and he does well, I am a republican, but I like him).

[ 07-18-2001: Message edited by: Ignacio ]