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Will the European Union make it? The question would have sounded strange not long ago. Now even the project’s greatest cheerlead

admin2012-05-28  51
问题     Will the European Union make it? The question would have sounded strange not long ago. Now even the project’s greatest cheerleaders talk of a continent facing a "Bermuda triangle" of debt, demographic decline and lower growth.
    As well as those chronic problems, the EU faces an acute crisis in its economic core, the 16 countries that use the single currency. Markets have lost faith that the euro zone’s economies, weaker or stronger, will one day converge thanks to the discipline of sharing a single currency, which denies uncompetitive members the quick fix of devaluation.
    Yet the debate about how to save Europe’s single currency from disintegration is stuck. It is stuck because the euro zone’s dominant powers, France and Germany, agree on the need for greater harmonisation within the euro zone, but disagree about what to harmonise.
    Germany thinks the euro must be saved by stricter rules on borrowing, spending and competitiveness, backed by quasi-automatic (半自动的) sanctions for governments that stray. These might include threats to freeze EU funds for poorer regions and EU mega-projects, and even the suspension of a country’s voting rights in EU ministerial councils. It insists that economic coordination should involve all 27 members of the EU club, among whom there is a small majority for free-market liberalism and economic rigour; in the inner core alone, Germany fears, a small majority favour French interference.
    A "southern" camp headed by France wants something different: "European economic government" within an inner core of euro-zone members. Translated, that means politicians intervening in monetary policy and a system of redistribution from richer to poorer members, via cheaper borrowing for governments through common Eurobonds or complete fiscal transfers. Finally, figures close to the French government have murmured, euro-zone members should agree to some fiscal and social harmonisation: e.g., curbing competition in corporate-tax rates or labour costs.
    It is too soon to write off the EU. It remains the world’s largest trading block. At its best, the European project is remarkably liberal: built around a single market of 27 rich and poor countries, its internal borders are far more open to goods, capital and labour than any comparable trading area. It is an ambitious attempt to blunt the sharpest edges of globalisation, and make capitalism kind and gentle.
    The problem is that the "European social model" has become, too often, a synonym (同义词)for a very expensive way of doing things. It has also become an end in itself, with some EU leaders calling for Europe to grow purely in order to maintain its social-welfare systems. That is a pretty depressing call to arms: become more dynamic so Europe can still afford old-age pensions and unemployment benefits.
The debate over the EU’s single currency is stuck because the dominant powers______.
选项 A、are competing for the leading position
B、are busy handling their own crises
C、fail to reach an agreement on harmonization
D、disagree on the steps towards disintegration
答案C
解析 根据题干中的The debate和the dominant powers将本题出处定位到第3段。首句提到，然而对于如何拯救欧洲单一货币从而避免分裂的辩论被卡住了。第2句接着说明卡住的原因：因为欧元区的主导国家法国和德国，虽然同意在欧元区内应有更进一步的协调，但是对于什么有待协调无法达成一致的共识。[C]“无法在协调上达成一致”是对第2句的同义转述，故为答案。[A]“竞争做领导”和[B]“忙于自己的危机”在文中未提到。[D]“在走向分裂的步骤上有分歧”与首句中的save…from disintegration相反，故排除。
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