EU collapse ahead ?

The former Italian PM and European commissioner Mario Monti fears "corrupt" national politics, structural holes in the Brussels machine and external crises may trigger the collapse of the European Union. And the return of the bloody past that preceded it.  He said to Francesco Guerra in an interview for Politico.eu  that the problems EU now faces

"leads me and others for the first time to consider whether we are not heading towards disintegration". "The EU has never been hit by such a high number of different crises of this gravity,” he continued, referring to the migration problem, the rise of terrorism, and the bloc’s persistent economic malaise. "What I am concerned about is that, although the EU has developed itself historically through a process of crisis, response to the crisis, and advancement, this time around it may well not happen."...

Monti’s skepticism over the wisdom of Jean Monnet — who famously said that “Europe will be forged in crises” — stems from his low opinion of national governments and the body that represents them in the Brussels’ pantheon: the European Council. “Nobody could seriously pretend that the full-time EU institutions [the Commission, Parliament, European Central Bank, and European Court of Justice] are the ones responsible for the lack of adequate and timely responses to the present constellation of crises,” he said. “That is the Council, in particular in its highest formation, i.e., the European Council.” ...

“I think the turning point was the financial crisis, which coincided with the French presidency of 2008,” he said. “The problem of the day was rescuing the banks and even rescuing states to some extent. That was to be done with money from member states, not from the tiny EU budget. Therefore, it was inevitable that the power largely shifted from the Commission to the Council and, within it, to the top table, the European Council.”...

In his view, the Council’s rise to prominence has been coupled with the steady drift of national political discourses towards nationalism, populism and a focus on the short-term. “The degree of mistrust and sheer prejudices between North and South and between East and West has never been so high and so unashamedly voiced,” he said...

“Unfortunately, this has started to pay off, at least in the short-term, for politicians who cultivate the gut feelings of their citizens. Even heads of government and ministers belonging to traditionally pro-European parties now indulge in this habit. They hit out at the EU and also to other member states in bilateral acrimony.”...

 “If it is an irreversible process, we are going to lose our democracies in our member states,” he said. “Because what is at stake now … is the first wave of an earthquake deriving, in my view, from deeper stresses in the underground of politics. But at the same time, there is also a declining trust in national authorities, a declining participation in votes, a growing impatience with the lack of performance by national governments.”...

The question is what he and other members of the traditional European elite can do about this. There is a long pause and then: “Not much.”"...

But Monti is still trying. He chairs EU`s high level group on own resources, which aims to reform and perhaps expand the EU budget. This is necessary because

“over the past eight, 10 months for the first time in many years, we have seen the member states … saying, for the refugee crisis, the eurozone crisis, the fight against terrorism, ‘hey Brussels, this has to be a new function of yours.’ We want to work on the simple logic that if there are new functions, maybe there should also be new resources.”

Hopefully the high level group will make useful analyzes. But to survive and prosper the EU can´t continue to turn a deaf ear to a large and growing number of critics who say "hey Brussels, we are unhappy an fed up with your centralized big government politics, we want a better balance between Union and national level".

Growing resistance especially against Brussels handling of refugee and eurozone crises is expressed through elections both in the Member countries and at Union level. This is how democracy works. Or should work. Because Brussels decisonmakers does not seem to understand that their Majority decisions should take into account the criticism in a better way. If this does not happen the EU's legitimacy will be undermined and nationalism increase. The Union appears to be at a crossroads now. The road followed so far continues straight ahead towards the The United States of Europe or one European country - probably dominated by Germany. The other road leads to a more balanced union, where the differences between Member states and between political opinions are better taken into account.

Mr Montis fear of the Unions collapse and the return of its bloody past is wellfounded. But he seems unwilling or unable to suggest necessary measures to avoid it.