Loss of Control Sparks EU Power Plays

I've held the view since the economic crisis first started that it may turn out to be bigger than governments.

I've been proved right as successive governments around the world have sunk hundreds of billions of pounds into the banking system and their own economies, only to fail miserably to turn things around.

Nothing, repeat nothing, they have done has turned the ship around. It may have deflected its path by a few degrees, but despite the colossal amounts of money, we are still in recession, we are still massively in the red and  we have yet to see any growth.

Lets remember that the crisis started back in 2007, four years ago. At the time many said it was an aberration, a blip, likely to be limited to one or two banks.

But here we are years later, trillions of pounds later and no result.

I do think that governments have finally understood they have lost control and given up. I get the undercurrent from the various EU posturing that the gig is up: governments don't have a clue what to do to save the Euro and the game has now moved on.

There are a number of  political dramas being played out across the EU. The first being closer integration of a core of EU countries. Behind closed doors I'm pretty sure its acknowledged that some countries will leave the Euro and things have moved on to political positioning to be top dog of the smaller core Euro zone. Despite talking of repatriating power back to the UK Parliament, David Cameron is negotiating exactly the opposite. He wants to be fully integrated, paid up member of what will effectively become the EU's equivalent of the UN security council. A core bloc of countries that will control, manage and police the outlying EU countries.

That this manoeuvring is going on behind closed doors is clear by the other strands being played out. The current distraction strand, chiefly which is the bust-up with Iran. Good for distracting the proles as governments do their damnedest to word and re-word new treaties to not look like new treaties, but amendments to existing treaties. Thereby avoiding the triggering of referendums and an outbreak of democracy across the EU. However, the affect of these not-treaties will be a new EU, with a new management in charge.

The final clue to these behind closed door manoeuvrings is the indecent haste and effort with which the senior members of the EU commission have tried to get involved in it all. We've had Barrosso sticking his oar in for weeks and being ignored as the Power shifts towards Merkel and Sarkozy. Now Baroness Ashton has ramped up the noise and sense of self-imposed importance by commenting publicly on the UK's diplomatic spat with Iran, urging other EU countries to get involved. The "don't forget we're still here" undertones of her timing can not be ignored.

There is the possibility of a new Europe being forged here and if successful, could emerge slimmer, fitter and more competitive if it ditches the over-expensive, overbearing and overtly corrupt EU commission.

Shock-Horror, it could be a Europe that some current Euro-sceptics could embrace.