The European Union is likely going to change. Like all political creations, it is temporary and one day it will disappear, to be replaced by other entities, or continue in name but not in substance, while larger powers overtake it. However, Bible Prophecy tells us that the EU, once mature, will eventually give way to the kingdom of Christ.
While the Brexit vote was triggered by the bloc’s policy of free movement of people and the huge influx of Muslims, that is not the only issue threatening the stability of the union. The Union is anything but uniform. Economic conditions also play a part. Many Northern European nations have strong nationalist parties that are currently gaining traction and political power. They want to recover at least some of their self-determination and sovereignty and thereby protect their national wealth from being siphoned off to help the struggling nations to the South. Southern nations are more supportive of the EU and the Eurozone since they receive subsidies from the EU to support their floundering economies. So if a Eurozone member leaves the EU, it will have a much more profound and immediate effect on the EU than if a non-Euro zone member leaves, though both would have a significant impact on Europe.
Support for EU institutions varies from country to country. While Poles are 72 percent in support for the European Union, the French are only supportive to 38 percent. Luxembourg has an 82 percent support while Italy has a mere 54 percent trust in EU institutions. Though Euroskepticism is sweeping the Continent, it is not uniform. Some Euroskeptic political parties want out, others just want out of the free-movement-of-workers policy and want to re-establish border controls, some want out of the currency union.
Whatever the case, it should be remembered that the European Union is an attempt to resurrect the Holy Roman Empire. The wealthier countries to the North were, at one point, strongly protestant, which gave them their wealth, while southern countries were Roman Catholic, which drained their wealth because of the Catholic-supported feudal system. Northern nations then, which have a residual protestant heritage and economic model are more likely to be less inclined to support the rule of Rome (which is rather quiescent at the moment).
Central European states, like Poland and Hungary, which are either Roman Catholic or Orthodox tend to be weaker economically after years in the soviet orbit and are less economically stable and need EU support. Nevertheless they resist deeper integration into the EU. States like the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria that receive EU financial support, are still skeptical of the eurozone and proposals to increase Brussels’ authority.
Meanwhile, peripheral states, like Greece, Portugal and Spain continue to back EU integration because they get subsidies and development funds to stay afloat. They are weak like clay in comparison to Germany, France and Italy, which are described in the Bible as iron.
“Northern European countries tend to coordinate their moves with their neighbors and with larger powers. They are far more likely to collectively push for Continental reform or for the creation of regional blocs than they are to risk their own isolation by acting unilaterally… Talk of forming a “northern eurozone” or “northern Schengen” has become common in this part of Europe.”
Germany, France and Italy will be in the forefront of the coming European Union’s transformation. And as threats to the bloc’s unity arise, each will become more dangerous than the last. But Germany and France, in particular, may well hold the union together, while Rome guides them behind the scenes. Though France could call for an EU reorganization, Germany has its own national interests and would find it tough to compromise with France to achieve it.
“At this point, reaching a consensus on a path forward has become all but impossible for the European Union’s members.” Deeper integration would need too much compromise. Reversing integration is equally unsavory to many members. Choosing to keep things as they are would come at a price too, “promising even greater problems for the troubled bloc down the line.”
“And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.” Daniel 2:41-43