The EU: An Obituary by John R Gillingham – the neoliberal case against the European Union

The Thatcherite historian argues that the EU is defunct, a relic of the postwar decades. But would an unfettered Europe be a better place?

A spectre is haunting Europe – the spectre of disintegration. The European Union, argues John R Gillingham, is on the verge of “collapse”, defended only by an alliance of old elites. While we focus on Brexit (which he confidently predicts in a postscript), the issues imperfectly covered in his book suggest that it is a parochial distraction from the much bigger question of how Europe is to be organised in the 21st century. We are at a “turning point” in European history.

Euroscepticism creates some strange bedfellows. Many rightwing nationalists view the EU as a Trojan horse of unstoppable multiculturalism. Some on the left see its focus on the single market as institutionalised “neoliberalism” and austerity. And some “neoliberals” such as Gillingham see it as a relic of the postwar decades that binds free markets in red tape. Gillingham is not a typical author for the radical-left publishing house Verso – presumably at least one commissioning editor there has Eurosceptic leanings. From all sorts of angles, the EU seems to be the sick man of Europe.

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