European Union – Part Three – The Expanse
From Origin Story by Podmasters
May 13, 2026 · 1h 23m · Season 9 · Episode 3
About this episode
This episode discusses the final stages of the European Union's formation and the subsequent challenges it faced, including the eurozone crisis and Brexit.
Hello and welcome to the final part of the story of European union, in which we finally see the European Union come to pass — and run into trouble. The transition begins with Jacques Delors, a pragmatic idealist in the mould of Jean Monnet, orchestrating Europe’s great leap forward. As the Berlin Wall comes down (and so does Margaret Thatcher), the balance of power shifts from France to a reunited Germany. In 1992, the 12 member states sign the Maastricht Treaty, which turns the EEC into the EU and sets a timetable for a common currency, the euro. This is the peak of European confidence and ambition. As the EU takes on the challenges of assimilating Eastern Europe and achieving monetary union, inertia sets in and Euroscepticism emerges as a political force. The failure to agree a constitution is nothing compared to the eurozone crisis beginning in 2009. The crisis is ethical as well as financial, pitting German bankers against the Greek people and making the EU seem, for the first time, cruelly doctrinaire. Delors wails that it is “killing Europe”. Eurozone drama and anti-immigrant populism make 2016 an ominous year for the UK to vote on whether to remain in the EU. The “Yes!” of…
Topics covered
- European Union
- history
- politics
- economics
- Euroscepticism
- Brexit
- monetary union
Keywords
- European Union
- Jacques Delors
- Maastricht Treaty
- Brexit
- eurozone crisis
- Euroscepticism
- monetary union
- political challenges
- Eastern Europe
- populism
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: European Union, EEC
Places: Germany, France, Greece
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