Europe stumbles toward a tighter union

Starting in the 1950s, Europe’s leaders edged closer. First came the European coal and steel cartel. Then the Common Market. Then the European Union, which now includes 27 states. Then the disappearance of many border controls inside the EU. Finally, the euro. Each step of the way the nations of Europe gave up a little more sovereignty, deferring to EU officials in Brussels on regulatory issues, honoring the rulings of the top EU court, and — with some exceptions such as Britain — yielding the power to set interest rates to the European Central Bank.

One thing no one surrendered: power over the national budget. Fiscal union, where a central authority has final say over each country’s spending and taxing, was never a possibility. Politically at least, it was a move too far: To control the budget was to control the nation itself.

A European finance ministry?

Trichet, one of the architects of the Maastricht Treaty that established the euro, said in June that he favored a European finance ministry and veto powers for the EU over national budgets. “Would it be too bold, in the economic field, with a single market, a single currency, and a single central bank, to envisage a ministry of finance of the union?” he asked in a speech in Aachen, Germany.

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