Romano Prodi Promotes Europe

Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Bangkok. March 20, 2013. Romano Prodi is a distinguished European leader who was president of the European Commission at the time the Euro was adopted, and who presided over an expansion of the union. Prodi was also president of Italy two times. Trained as an economist, Prodi is a passionate believer in the European Union, and he maintains that the benefits of the union of European countries far outweighs the shortcomings that its critics see. For Prodi, the European Union has eliminated war on a continent long-accustomed to war and the cause of two world wars. Europe today is a place of political disputes, not bloody wars. Prodi also sees the union as a promoter of equality and human rights.

On the other hand, Prodi does not underestimate the problems facing the union, particularly within the euro zone. As for dissolution of the union, Prodi does not believe that his will occur, and while the outcome of Britain's anticipated referendum in 2016 to stay or leave the union, cannot be predicted at this time, Prodi points out that Britain is the only country where that uncertainty exists. The EU could benefit from a different German policy and he believes that austerity has gone too far, and that there is room to correct. 
  
The EU must be saved and its banking system must not be allowed to descend into bankruptcy, Prodi said. Prodi is for a decrease in the taxation of labor and for Europe to come to grips with its long-term problems with real solutions, not short term ones. Prodi's concept of the EU as a union of minorities is a compelling one, and one that I believe will endure. History is on the EU's side: countries going it alone in today's world are at a distinct disadvantage.