This past fortnight we have witnessed the crisis enter a disturbing new phase. The toppling of the democratically elected governments in both Greece and Italy according to the dictates of the financial markets, and the subsequent decision to replace those governments with unelected technocrats, brings to an end any lingering illusions of democratic accountability in the debt swamped Eurozone nations.
In Italy, the downfall of Silvio Burlesconi may have been greeted with some sense of relief amongst an electorate who had grown tired of the scandal prone premier. There is however a certain sense of trepidation as the reality slowly sets in that he is to be succeeded by the unelected and unaccountable Mario Monti, a former European commissioner and adviser to investment bank Goldman Sachs.
Speaking on the Italian situation on a visit to Rome last Friday, Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, said “the country needs reforms, not elections”.
The sole task of Mario Monti will be to impose the will of the EU and IMF, regardless of the cost to the most vulnerable of the Italian citizenry.
Following the downfall of Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, it was decided that Lucas Papademos, a former vice-president of the European Central Bank, would be appointed as his successor in a bid to ensure that even tougher austerity measures can be imposed upon the Greek people without delay.
What is often described as the 'democratic deficit' at the heart of the European Union, has now begun to spread to individual member states. Where once there was at least lip service paid to principles of democratic ideals, today we find that the dictates of the financial markets take precedence above all else. What started as a financial and economic crisis, is fast becoming a crisis in democracy.
The EU has long been criticized for the lack of democratic accountability at its core. The European Commission, the executive body in which is vested the power to propose legislation and implement decisions, is wholly unaccountable to the people. While the European Parliament, the only legislative body in the EU directly elected by the people, wields very little influence over decision making.
As we witness the rapid erosion of national sovereignty and democratic accountability in individual member states, the continuous narrative emerging from Europe's centre is that closer political union is the only solution to the crisis.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned last Monday that Europe was entering its "toughest hour since World War Two", and rallying for tighter European integration, demanded "binding" EU oversight of national budgets.
Nikolas Sarkozy has suggested that a 'two-speed' Europe will emerge from the crisis, with much closer integration amongst Eurozone nations.
"Clearly there will be a two-speed Europe" Sarkozy said. "One that moves towards more integration in the Eurozone, and one speed for a confederation within the European Union".
The consensus amongst most financial analysts is that we face a choice between full European fiscal integration, or a breakdown of the euro currency, which could in turn jeopardize the European project as a whole.
The push for a federal European superstate is now well and truly underway. The reality for us here in Ireland is that while events may at this moment be transpiring that are beyond our control in the wider European financial context, we may soon be faced with a very stark decision regarding our future position in a newly structured EU.
There is also the chance however, that decision may be out of our hands if weaker Eurozone nations such as Greece and Ireland are forced to leave the Eurozone, as many commentators have suggested.
Although there is not at present any mechanism in existing treaties to enable a member state to exit, this did not prevent Nikolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel recently threatening Greece with expulsion. That the Franco-German pair had no political authority or legal basis with which to execute this threat apparently mattered little. The EU no longer operates, it would seem, even by its own protocols.
Should we remain with Europe, Irish Government parties would not relish the prospect of further European treaty changes which may require a referendum here in Ireland. They are aware that any referendum proposing tighter European integration is likely to be defeated with an electorate still reeling over the debacle of the Lisbon treaty.
In recent years there has been a stark rise in Euro-skepticism in Ireland and throughout all of Europe, and referendums on further integration would likely face a similar outcome in many other EU states.
If there is little will amongst the electorate for further EU integration, there seems even less so on the part of our EU leaders to reform or in any way democratize the institutions of the EU. If it is possible to amend existing treaties without recourse to national referenda, it is entirely probable that EU leaders could press ahead with plans for deeper integration, regardless of public opinion, much as they did with the European Constitution of 2005 which was rejected by France and Holland, and which was later re-branded as the Lisbon treaty.
Any such moves would however be met with stiff opposition.
If we are faced with the choice of whether or not to cede total national sovereignty to a new integrated Eurozone, it is likely that it will be framed in the context of avoiding an imminent collapse, and all the disastrous consequences that would come with that.
In much the same way as the bank bail out last year was put before the Irish Government on the basis that a refusal to accept the bail out would mean immediate disaster for Ireland, one can imagine a scenario where further Eurozone integration would be presented with a similar urgency.
For now, our politicians are remaining coy on the topic of further European integration, they know it is very unpopular amongst the electorate. Decembers budget remains the primary focus for the Irish people and politicians alike. In the near future however, we may be facing a much grander decision on the long-term future of Ireland as a sovereign nation.
If the noises coming from Europe are anything to go by, it seems almost certain that the EU, as we have known it, will not continue for much longer.
The rather unsettling manner in which European leaders are at this moment riding roughshod over the basic principles of democracy in Greece and Italy, may just provide a glimpse of things to come in a new centralized European state.
