Even as the European Union moves to introduce a common currency at the start of the new year, Europe has entered a period of hibernation, one without the ideas and leaders needed to broaden and deepen the integration of the continent.
Pragmatism is a polite way of saying that there is no vision.
Delors seconded these views. At a time of growing prosperity and just days before the introduction of the euro, many both in Europe and outside are likely to view these remarks as either wrong-headed or the reflection of little more than the bitterness former officials may feel about the actions of their successors. But there are at least three reasons for taking the arguments of Giscard and Delors far more seriously. As these two men know from their own experiences, such a belief is unlikely to contribute to stability and growth but rather to stagnation and decay. If Europe does not remain a dynamic concept, they suggest, it will ultimately wither in the face of national, subnational and external challenges.