That may be and I always thought that the currency union was a step too far. And it is true that the European Parliament is a soulless entity where a European love of complicated procedure and over-regulation strangles its vitality.
Remember, however, that the impetus for the European Union was not prosperity, it was to dampen the harsh nationalism that had bled millions of lives in WWII and, to a lesser extent, WWI (meaning less a product of extreme nationalism, rather than saying it was not bloody).
So far, it has held those tides at bay since the fall of the Soviet Union (which previously held those tides at bay). But I am afraid that warranty may be reaching expiry, and we'll all be sorry when it does.
I initially wrote a long thing about the origins of two world wars and about Bosnian reflections on the current state of affairs... but I'll spare you that. Suffice it to say that nationalism in Europe has not historically been a good thing and Europeans have commonly underestimated how long it takes to go from "lasting peace in our day" to all-out war. They have too often believed that everything is stable and war is not a concern, with unfortunate consequences.
