The EU is increasingly beginning to resemble a communist politburo

The EU's obsession with "ever closer union" reminds me of that cliche "the road to hell is paved with good intentions". Its founding ideals were based on the desire to prevent the kind of nationalism and populism that led to the rise of Hitler. Unfortunately, this has blinded it to the ideals of national sovereignty and democracy. The Irish are a fiercely independent people. It was less than 90 years since they were freed from centuries of British rule. Not surprisingly, they are not in a hurry to be ruled by a foreign power and in the light of this, you can understand why they rejected the Lisbon treaty. Similarly, former communist countries such as the Czech republic have bitter memories of the Warsaw pact and are in no hurry for political union. For them, the EU is increasingly beginning to resemble the communist regimes that only 20 years ago were running their countries.

Neither the Soviet Union nor any of the Warsaw pact countries had any democratic legitimacy, but were run by a political elite who thought they knew what was best for their people and felt little need to consult them. National sovereignty and democracy does not equate to nationalism and populism. It's high time Europe's political elite adjusted to reality.