Yes, Europe is stuck in a downward spiral. But it's there because it's been the lapdog of the US for 30 years.

Without post-cold war US neocon hubris, the EU project would not have turned into what it is. The NATO push eastward would not have been as one-sided and aggressive.

The EU has been allowed to think that it's more powerful and important than it is. Now suddenly its masters are leaving and this barking little mutt is left alone with a nasty Rottweiler next door.