> The GDP of *27* countries combined is now greater than that of the US?
> And that tells you that the advantage the US enjoys of having the
> biggest economy in the world is eroding?
Hell yes. Those countries trade mostly with each other, share a commitment to some form of social democracy, are urbanized and modernized, etc. They squabble like anything, but agree on the big issues. Now's the time to cash in that mortgage and invest in an Eastern European growth fund!
> The US, especially these days, moves with the flapping of a single
> mouth: that of George. How does the "EU-plus-two" speak or act?
Through Javier Solanas, Chirac and, ironic as it sounds, Putin. This is the strangest twist of all -- Russia is in some ways a semi-periphery, and yet politically, it's become a key ally of the EU, because it wants regional stability in the Middle East.
-- DRR