[Guthlac]

My link
M. Synon

For reasons too complicated to explain here, yesterday I found myself pinned outside the European Parliament in the Place Luxembourg next to a mob of German fans watching the Germany-Serbia match on an outdoor wide-screen television.

It really, really wasn't where I wanted to be. In fact, in between shouting scraps of conversation -- damn those vuvuzela, which have made their way into the German population of Brussels -- about the Belgian elections to the Flemish lawyer I was meeting for lunch, I was grousing loudly that I had no idea who was playing Germany but I was about to start cheering for them.

A shout came from the next table: 'Serbia. They are playing Serbia, and I am supporting Serbia.'

'So, you're a Serb?' I asked.

'No, I'm a Slovenian, but out of solidarity with a member of the former Yugoslavia, I'm supporting the Serbs.'

Okay, so I started cheering for Serbia. I have to like any nation that breaks up a fake supranational 'state' such as Yugoslavia to re-establish itself as a sovereign country.

And my Flemish lawyer friend? He decided to join the cheers for Serbia, too. After all, as a decent Flemish democrat, he wants Belgium to split up, just as Yugoslavia split up (though with less blood, obviously). He wants Flanders to take its place as a sovereign country. So, cheers from him for the secessionist team.

Then there was a Finnish diplomat nearby. He joined in our exclusive corner of Serbian supporters: Finland once had to break free of the Russian empire, so Id say he knew all about a nation regaining its sovereignty.

All of which rather raised the heart: it was a reminder that European history isn't really about ever closer union. It's about nations, time and again, throwing off empires. And I'll always cheer for that. Where's my vuvuzela?

[Steven]

Good post Guthlac took me a while to spot it. The EUSSR will crash and burn and hopefully, soon after, the Britstate. England will be a nation state once more - I feel it in my bones.

Steve

[Andy]

Agreed Guthlac, good post mate.

If we look at the history of most nations they endured years of struggle to break from under the rule of some state or other.