>You mention the EU and I will use that to launch what I hope will be a generally interesting discussion, with no bias whatsoever. From the start I have been dubious that it would work. There is a long history of discord, and quite a bit of geography to wrangle. What does Ireland have in common with Spain? France with Germany? Is this really going to be a union or just an economic convenience?

What does Alaska have in common with Hawaï ?
In a nutshell: same currency means same economics, which in turns means same politics. It's just a matter of time and the progress since the early 50ties is quite remarkable.
Since years i do not consider myself to be Belgian but a European living in the 'state' Belgium.

A+
jml