Are you German?
"Are you German?"
Yes - if that's ok with you ;-). The main page said that "FreeRepublic" was about "independent, grass-roots conservatism" and i can identify with that.
I grew up 200 yards from an American military installation though, so I'm naturally against Mr. Schroeder's anti-americanism and the communist propaganda of our Green party. Plus I used to work in a very "Americanized" environment for quite a long time.
The question of the future of the European union actually reminds of a discussion I had with a G.I. a few years ago, when the negotiations for the treaty of Nice were about to fail, who was convinced that the EU would fail and that there might even be a (cold) war in Europe. But that's not the way things work in Europe.
Actually I myself am a critic, but not an enemy, of the European union - because for a great part it lacks democratic legitimation. But then there are certain fields where European cooperation is absolutely necessary, and in those fields a reformed European union would be an apt tool of furthering common interests (which do exists).
And there is nothing wrong with promoting these common interests, the European nations have every right to do so. Illegal immigration for example: To find working solutions that benefit all the states, you have to get them to work together.
The EU as it is now is far from that ideal - and in this regard the constitutional treaty is somewhat ambiguous: In some fields it streamlines and slims down EU involvement with local affairs, in other fields it transfers sovereignty from the nation states to Brussels. I would prefer having the first without the second.