How can it be sensible to hook yourself up with so many countries, so many economies, so many societies which exist on so many different levels... some successful, some outright bust (and right from the beginning)? Loser economies like Greece, that was limping to start out and never had any intention to reform, were IN only for what it GOT THEM.
Your chances of success and prosperity are ONLY as good as the chances for the weakest link in THAT chain.
It's illogical to expect anything else.
The EU was a good idea in its lowest level as a union of different EUropean countries, preventing war.
They should move it to a confederation type, not the ever-closing unions, and this will move that caase
So many economies etc. - come on, Alabama has a different economy than Connecticut etc.
You're conflating the EU with the Eurozone.