What Croatia can expect

Having described Croatia's decision to join the EU as a mass loss of sanity, I thought I ought to expand on the subject.

We began the year with two Eurozone governments, in Italy and Greece, having been replaced by pressure from the unelected European Commission. The post of prime minister is in each case held by a Euro-placeman.

Now it's Hungary's turn. You may recall that Hungary used to have a Euro-apparatchik in charge; his name was Ferenc Gyurcsany, Prime Minister in the early days of joining the EU, from 2004. His government was deeply corrupt, but the Eurocracy doesn't mind that. In addition, Gyurcsany had lied in Greek fashion about the country's financial affairs in order to get into the euro, but they don't mind that either. The euro is a political project, not an economic one, so it's enough that you are west of the Urals and that you want to join (and that you're not Turkey).

But Gyurcsany's government was very unpopular and, as happens in democracies, he was thrown out by the people. The man they elected in his place is Viktor Orban, who is very much not a Euro placeman. For a start Orban wanted to replace the constitution which had been imposed by Stalin (the European Commission hadn't minded it) and he wants to 'Hungarianise' a lot of the country's institutions. This is to an extent shorthand for Nationalism, and it may be you don't like the cut of his jib (nor do I) but he is what the Hungarians have voted for and democracy implies the right of the electorate to make a mistake.

Eurocracy implies the limited right of the electorate to vote as their masters in Brussels require.

So the European Commission, using your taxes, is trying to oust a democratically elected government. It is taking legal action against Hungary, saying it does not have the right (!) to take the measures it has and threatening to cut off the subsidies it receives if it doesn't toe the line.

You may recall that the EC got all supranational fascist with Austria when it dared to elect Joerg Haider against the wishes of Brussels. Austria and Hungary: seem to go together somehow.

But it isn't just them. The FT reports today that Germany wants to take away Greece's power to enact an economic policy - even one that has been decided for it - and that the economic government should be undertaken by a budget commissioner.

So Greece is no longer a nation state, Italy is scarcely one, Hungary will soon cease to be one. Croatia should realise this: that joining the European Union will give it the freedom to do....as it is told.