Monetary Union, warns Malcolm Rifkind the British foreign secretary, will be a radical and divisive departure from 40 years of common Policies. "Europe will be divided between those countries that are part of economic and monetary union, and those countries that are not, he said. "This is not what the founding fathers had in mind."
Hints of a potential rupture are already apparent in the strained relations between Germany and southern EU members. While many Germans fear the inclusion of the lira and the peseta will produce a weak euro, leaders of Italy, Spain and Portugal have stepped up their campaign to join monetary union at the outset.
英国外交大臣Malcolm Rifkind警告说,货币联盟将是一种激进的分裂的政策,偏离40年的共同政策。“欧洲将被划分为属于经济和货币联盟的国家和不属于这一联盟的国家两部分。”他说,“这可不是创立者们的想法。”在德国和欧盟成员国之间的紧张关系中,潜在的破裂迹象已经显而易见。尽管许多德国人担心里拉和比塞塔的加入会导致欧元疲软,但意大利西班牙和葡萄牙的领导人在一开始就加紧了加入货币联盟的行动。
