Why the Maastricht structure is primarily based on Franco/German interests
Ever since a teen-ager, I have supported the idea of a Socialist United States of Europe. As a UK government negotiator, I subsequently took part in many talks in Brussels. In my time, it was largely a case of detailed ad hoc bargaining: “You give me this and I’ll give you that” – the small change of international diplomacy. The results were not wholly bad, possibly even mildly beneficial for the UK. My own remit when in Brussels was to block any significant move by the EU
