On 2011-02-03, at 7:22 PM, Wojtek S wrote:
> [WS:] I disagree with Marv that EU was
> mainly a top-down creation - the project received tremendous popular support
> from certain segments of the population - at least on the continent.
Which doesn't establish, however, that it was not a project mainly initiated by the European bourgeoisie to serve its interests. Capitalist governments which preside over capitalist states enjoy varying degrees of public support depending on circumstances. In any event, I don't know how your claim of "tremendous" mass support for European unification can be reconciled with the rejection of a top-down proposal for a European constitution by French, Dutch, and Irish voters in 2005, and the subsequent cancellation of planned referenda in other EU states for fear of the same result.
We can expect public support has faded further in the wake of the financial crisis. The early eurosceptics who suggested that the economic disparities in the eurozone would inevitably create great strains and perhaps doom the European project were scoffed at and isolated. Now even the Economist, pondering the widespread discontent both in Germany and in the weaker peripheral countries bearing the brunt of the crisis, has concluded that "some are beginning to contemplate the unthinkable" - the collapse or fragmentation of the eurozone and the wider union itself.
It probably won't come to that, but even before the crisis, there is evidence showing that majority support for the Union was accompanied by the perception that its benefits were mainly accruing to the rich. A 2006 poll found that nearly 80% of respondents felt the EU was dominated by business interests and that while "the majority of EU citizens see themselves as pro-European...the benefits of EU membership are not clear enough. This is a particular problem with people from the first 15 member states." (http://www.europeanvoice.com/article/imported/what-europe-s-citizens-really-feel-about-the-eu/55006.aspx).
That was when the good times were rolling. It's questionable whether that popular majority still exists.