Vive la Union!

[fivemack]

The EU takes on its ten new members on 1 May. I didn't get to Berlin when the Wall came down (I was twelve at the time, and besides it was in the middle of term); it would be kind of nice to be in Wenceslas Square when one of the more obvious and hopeful side-effects of the Wall's fall finally resolves itself after fourteen and a half years. At least, I hope the place will be full of celebrating Czechs.

And, though it's a bank holiday, Easyjet haven't put their fares up too far yet.

So, Prague or Ploktacon? Or would Poland or 'Pest be a better place for the celebrations? I've googled a little for celebrations, but no success — they may be targetted towards Hungarians and therefore in Magyar.

Comments

[beingjdc.livejournal.com]

if you're to argue for the noisome evil of the EU in all things, it's hard to explain away why they're letting the Eastern European nations in to their exclusionist super-state so quickly.

Geopolitics, largely - the Eastern European states will be part of a power block, and with the demise of the USSR, the choices are pretty much the EU or the USA. Offering them economic advantages is meant to buy them, and fulfils the dream of plenty of European statesmen of 'reuniting' Europe. Many European politicians are deeply resentful of the fact that the USA has a smaller population, but is punching much higher than its weight in world affairs (which in a sense is fair enough I suppose, I just don't especially want to be part of an anti-American superpower). Of course it might all go wrong for them, given the number of central European states that were happy to line up with the US over Iraq.