This does not bode well. This union might well become yet another
footnote in the annals of economic history.
The Concert of Europe, Interrupted
By: Dr. Sam Vaknin
"(Plan for establishing) an economic organization ... through mutual
customs agreements ... including France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark,
Austria, Poland, and perhaps Italy, Sweden, and Norway".
The German "September Plan" to impose an economic union on the
vanquished nations of Europe following a military victory, 1914
Europe spent the first half of the 19th century (following the 1815
Congress of Vienna) containing France. The trauma of the Napoleonic
wars was the last in a medley of conflicts with an increasingly
menacing France stretching back to the times of Louis XIV. The Concert
of Europe was specifically designed to reflect the interests of the Big
Powers, establish their borders of expansion in Europe, and create a
continental "balance of deterrence". For a few decades it proved to be
a success.
The rise of a unified, industrially mighty and narcissistic Germany
erased most of these achievements. By closely monitoring France, the
Big Powers were fighting the last war - instead of the three next ones.
Following two ineffably ruinous world wars, Europe now shifted its
geopolitical sights from France to Germany.
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