Rebuilding the European house ?

The residents in the European house do not agree on their lifestyle quality. In the Parliament election last year most of them said they were quite satisfied, but a huge and growing group wanted to leave. Or rebuild the house - making it smaller, not encompassing policymaking which can be better handled at the national level. The development will of course reflect the distribution of powers within and between the European institutions. Most likely the integration towards "an ever closer union" will continue and the house be expanded accordingly. But unpredictable events might influence the decision processes.

If the Greek Parliament election on 25 January 2015 brings the SYRIZA party to power, no one knows what will happen. People in Greece do not like to be in the EUs debt prison, and a Greek Euro exit is possible. Their bailout package might also be renegotiated. Both of these scenarios will effect the Euro system and the Union.

Another unpredictable event is the general election in UK on 7 May 2015. Prime minister Cameron has promised to renegotiate the UKs membership terms if he wins the election, followed by an in-out referendum before the end of 2017. He has lately said he could hold the referendum sooner if possible. The anti EU sentiments in UK are strong, so a majority vote for exit can not be ruled out. If that happens, the architecture for a necessary rebuilding of the  European house will probably be put on the agenda.