An alternative view

The idea of a European Union (EU), which is far more than the Euro and a fiscal union, is a concept that is IMO not shared by many of the EU electorate, even less now with the debt crisis. Those who shared the concept, mainly national-level politicians and bureaucracies, failed to articulate what it actually meant, partly out of fear. Now the electorate are expected to "bail out" southern members, partly on the claimed basis it makes sense.

The EU ignored its own rules over the Euro, for political reasons and partly as Germany was distracted by the huge support costs of reunification.

Look at the Schengen Zone's weakening after the Libyan and Tunisian refugee exodus. Let alone the Common Foreign & Security Policy (CFSP) left in disarray after the Libyan intervention.

The EU appears to have attempted a politics-free economic union and then looked surprised when the markets and people have expressed concern over the state we now fin ourselves in.