But the EU is not a country; it is an incomplete association of sovereign states that will not survive a decade or more of stagnation. That is not in Germany’s interest, and it would leave Europeans worse off than they were when they embarked on the EU project.
当然，许多国家曾经遭遇过噩梦并最终恢复了元气。但欧盟不是国家；它是由主权国家组成的不完整的联盟，它无法精力十年甚至更长时间的停滞而不分崩离析。这不符合德国的利益，也会让欧洲人的境况比欧盟工程启动前更差。