Coming: A United States of Europe!

As Europe staggers from financial crisis to financial crisis, many are predicting a breakup of the eurozone. Others note that the political integration necessary to save the eurozone could require “force.” What does the Bible say?

It’s been termed a “Greek tragedy.” Riots, strikes and protests break out in Italy, Spain, Greece and elsewhere.

Near-bankrupt Greece attempts to impose such severe austerity measures that its citizens take to the streets. Italy experiences strikes, falling productivity and rising labor costs. Ireland’s real estate values collapse. Spain’s usually high unemployment rate rises even higher. And Europe’s banking sector groans, as collapsing asset values threaten the financial stability of the entire continent.

The euro experiment in deep trouble

The picture is grim indeed, and politicians seem to have only Band-Aid solutions at best. The euro experiment, initiated with such optimism over a decade ago, now looks to be in deep trouble. Citizens of eurozone states are angry, screaming at their leaders for solutions, while Europe staggers from crisis to crisis.

Consider:

• Several European stock markets, including Germany, Italy and France, dropped about 5 percent of their value on Monday (Sept. 5) on worries about Greece and its budget.
• Greece’s borrowing costs are now at a record high, with the two-year Greek bond now yielding almost 50 percent! For the sake of comparison, U.S. treasuries now yield about 0.2 percent for the two-year note, and about 2 percent for the 10-year bond. Germany’s yield is now about 0.75 percent on its two-year bund and some 1.85 percent on its 10-year note. What this means is that it is close to impossible for Greece to borrow.
• Italy’s productivity has fallen by some 5 percent in a decade, while its labor costs have soared by some 38 percent (The Financial Times, Sept. 6, 2011). Compare Germany’s roughly 8 percent increase in productivity and 5 percent rise in labor costs over the same period.
• As of June 2011, prices for homes in Dublin, Ireland, have dropped 46 percent from their peak prices in 2007.
• Spain’s unemployment rate stands at around 21 percent, and its property values have also fallen, to the tune of some 20 to 50 percent in many parts of the country.

With Europe’s ugly economic picture as a backdrop, its citizens are becoming restive. In particular, Germany, the engine of much of the economic growth and the healthiest of the eurozone economies, is beginning to ask why. Why must we bail out the poor cousins of Europe? Why should we be penalized for the economic mismanagement of the struggling “PIIGS” (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain)?

The questions are natural ones, but ones that are likely to have repercussions well beyond the current crisis.

Warnings of meltdown

Pundits are beginning to see the seriousness of the situation. An article written by journalist Roya Wolverson asks “Should the Eurozone Become a ‘United States of Europe’?”

This article explores the economic desperation in Europe and concludes with apocalyptic language: “In the end, creating a fiscal union in some form may indeed be the only way to save the eurozone. But such measures—evermore unpalatable when the downsides are at the doorstep—should have been implemented when the union began. The only route to more political integration now may be by force. After all, market meltdowns tend to speak louder than cowering politicians.”

Also warning of the possibility of a eurozone meltdown is an article written by Tyler Durden titled “Bring Out Your Dead—UBS Quantifies Costs of Euro Break Up, Warns of Collapse of Banking System and Civil War.” Mr. Durden cites a just-released report from European banking giant UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland) that assesses the consequences of a collapse of the euro.

The report states, “Under the current structure and with the current membership, the Euro does not work. Either the current structure will have to change, or the current membership will have to change.”

The report attempts to “count the cost” of a German withdrawal from the euro, noting, “Were a stronger country such as Germany to leave the Euro, the consequences would include corporate default recapitalisation of the banking system and collapse of international trade.”

The UBS report ominously states, “It is also worth observing that almost no modern fiat currency monetary unions have broken up without some form of authoritarian or military government, or civil war” (italics added).

Will this happen?

How likely is this? Will it happen? Students of Bible prophecy understand that, at some point in the future, the economy of Europe will be transformed and come to dominate the world, though likely not in the way the pundits expect.

God’s Word tells us about the power of a European leader referred to as “the beast.” The prevailing system “causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:16-17).

The result of an economic meltdown? Quite possibly. When will it take place? We don’t know for sure. But one thing is for certain: This will take place! Once God Almighty decrees it is to happen, it will occur, just before the second coming of Jesus Christ the Messiah.

Let’s keep our eyes on Europe and on this economic crisis, lest we be caught unawares!

Ralph Levy is a minister of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, who grew up in England and now lives in the United States. Dr. Levy enjoys serving the Church, reading, travel and foreign languages. He has a Ph.D. in biblical studies and has worked in foreign language and religious education for much of his life.

Related links:

• Have the Germans Really Conquered Europe?
• Economic "Contagion"--and Bible Prophecy
• Europe's Economic Crisis: Where Will It Lead?