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Law - possibly, why not?
Language - no, why?
Culture - no, why?
Money - yes, why not?
Courtesy - see culture, above
Switzerland is a confederal union of 26 independent states. It has a single confederal law governing points of common interest, but each state or canton has its own laws on other matters. It has four separate national languages and umpteen dialects. It has about 6 or 8 distinct ethnic cultures, often a plurality in a single canton. It uses a single money throughout all the cantons and semicantons. Each ethnicity has its own version of courtesy. This diversity has also become the butt of jokes to show that unity can still be diverse (e.g., the Appenzellers are small - an Appenzeller regiment crossing the road with fixed bayonets may be mistaken for a hedgehog - the Fribourgeois are dirty - they have holes drilled in their coffins so that the worms can go outside to vomit - the Bernese are slow - a newbie parachutist is told to count to three before pulling the rip cord; as he is scraped off the ground he is heard in his dying breath to utter, "Dreu" with a movement of his arm etc.).
Is there any reason why the members of the EU cannot keep a similar individual identity and a common purpose? OK, the Swiss have been at it slightly longer than the EU, since 1 Aug 1291, to be precise, when three guys boated to an inaccessible meadow called the Grütli, raised their arms to the sky and said, "We are Switzerland, we are!" and promptly told the Austrians to get the hell out of the place.
Language - no, why?
Culture - no, why?
Money - yes, why not?
Courtesy - see culture, above
Switzerland is a confederal union of 26 independent states. It has a single confederal law governing points of common interest, but each state or canton has its own laws on other matters. It has four separate national languages and umpteen dialects. It has about 6 or 8 distinct ethnic cultures, often a plurality in a single canton. It uses a single money throughout all the cantons and semicantons. Each ethnicity has its own version of courtesy. This diversity has also become the butt of jokes to show that unity can still be diverse (e.g., the Appenzellers are small - an Appenzeller regiment crossing the road with fixed bayonets may be mistaken for a hedgehog - the Fribourgeois are dirty - they have holes drilled in their coffins so that the worms can go outside to vomit - the Bernese are slow - a newbie parachutist is told to count to three before pulling the rip cord; as he is scraped off the ground he is heard in his dying breath to utter, "Dreu" with a movement of his arm etc.).
Is there any reason why the members of the EU cannot keep a similar individual identity and a common purpose? OK, the Swiss have been at it slightly longer than the EU, since 1 Aug 1291, to be precise, when three guys boated to an inaccessible meadow called the Grütli, raised their arms to the sky and said, "We are Switzerland, we are!" and promptly told the Austrians to get the hell out of the place.
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