A Contribution by Blerina Karagjozi (one-europe.info):

When we think about the European Union, many consider it as a successful model and one of the biggest success stories of international politics. This makes us proud as Europeans! The economic collapse of Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Greece has started years ago. The European Union’s sui generis status is not a fully-fledged federal entity and not a mere collection of nation-states. This is clearly revealed by the crisis of the Euro zone. Looking back in the centuries, when today's’ EU member states were fighting against each other in massive conflicts and even World Wars, it is a huge change in the human history the tight bond created by a series of interlocking institutions and legal framework. Political integration through institutional unification and market exchanges rather than conflicts or territorial expansions; has created the typology of the newest political entity in the global political model which we like to refer to as the democratic political system. This system in my view has very strong institutional linkages and it’s based in a wide range political consensus between the member states community which assures its existence for the future.