Immobilizing E.U. Holdings of Russian Assets

By invoking Article 122 of the E.U.’s basic law, a clause that had been used most significantly during the Coronavirus pandemic and in the 2022 energy crisis, the E.U. in December, 2025 finally circumvented the twice-threatened veto by the state of Hungary and indefinitely froze €210 billion of assets of the Russian Central Bank that had been within the E.U.’s territory since Russia began its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine nearly four years earlier. I contend that the European Court of Justice, the E.U.’s supreme court, could apply a rational basis in a judicial review of the triggering of the emergency-conditioned article, especially because the Commission invoked the article in order to obviate Hungary’s threatened veto. Because every E.U. state except for Belgium and Hungary were for freezing the assets until Russia such time as Russia ends its militaristic aggression and compensates Ukraine financially for damages the Belgian and Hungarian state governments were violating the informal norm of consensus in the European Council and the Council of Ministers. Like the U.S. Senate, the European Council, which also represents the states, is like a club of sorts. The problem facing the Commission is that violating a norm is not a legal basis for obviating a threatened state-veto by invoking an emergency clause of the E.U.’s basic law, especially if no emergency actually exists after nearly four years of the invasion. Even though I am personally in favor of the E.U. obviating Hungary’s serial obstructionism that may be, at least in part, retaliation against President Von der Leyen’s Commission for having penalized the Hungarian government financially for having violated E.U. law, legal reasoning should not succumb to the gravity of the “black hole” of personal opinion.  There may be nothing so much like a god as a general on a battlefield, with power over life and death, but neither the European Commission nor myself is a general. In short, the Commission’s legal justification in invoking Article 122 is tenuous at best, even though countering Hungary’s Viktor Orbán’s abuse of his state’s veto-power in the European Council and the Council of Ministers was needed for the E.U. to be able to function within its enumerated competencies (i.e., powers).

The reason for indefinitely holding the Russian central bank’s financial assets that have been in the E.U. since the beginning of the invasion is so the E.U. could use those assets as a basis for making loans to Ukraine to bolster the sovereign state’s military position without the E.U. having to issue its own debt. “We are sending a strong signal to Russia that as long as this brutal war of aggression continues, Russia’s costs will continue to rise,” President Von der Leyen said.[1] The objective was to “make sure that our brave neighbour beomes even stronger on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.”[2] According to Euronews, the E.U. was able to shore up “its mightiest leverage,” push back against “external interference” and insulate “the money from the Kremlin’s war machine—all at once.”[3] The external interference was not really external, as this refers to the financially self-interested objection of the state of Belgium and the pro-Russian objection of Viktor Orbán of Hungary. Obviating self-interested states whose governors are willing to go against the other 25 states in the Council is laudable even though this objective can be traced back to the E.U.’s federal system, which must be taken as a given to the ECJ. To be sure, finding a way to do it by invoking an article of the E.U.’s basic law was not an easy task for the Commission.

“At first, the Commission suggested activating Article 31.2 . . . to switch the [6 months] renewal of sanctions from unanimity to qualified majority.”[4] The sanctions include holding the Russian financial assets. The article is vaguely, and thus problematically from the standpoint of constitutional language, based on “strategic interests and objectives.”[5] This wording could potentially enable the E.U., by qualified majority voting, to encroach excessively on governmental sovereignty retained by the states. That any state government could invoke “vital and stated reasons” of “policy”—again too vague—to veto any such bills that are in the strategic interests and objectives of the E.U. as a whole meant that the governor of Hungary could easily invoke its ties to Russia as vital reasons to veto the proposal to freeze the Russian assets indefinitely.

So, the Commission turned to Article 122, which applies qualified-majority voting rather than unanimity in the European Council (and the Council of Ministers) “in a spirit of solidarity . . . appropriate to the economic situation.”[6] Here too, the constitutional language is too vague. Hungary’s Orbán had been fragrantly violating the spirit of solidarity for years, and “economic situation” is so vague that the article could potentially be used to expunge unanimity from the federal level.

Furthermore, that Article 122 “bypasses the European Parliament” is also problematic because that democratically elected legislative chamber, the “lower house,” could otherwise act as a check on the Commission and the councils exploiting the article to rid the E.U. of the need for unanimity in the councils. Also, requiring a qualified majority vote in the Parliament would not in itself give the state governments the power to use their respective vetoes in the councils. One of the principal benefits of federalism, as distinct from confederalism, is the mechanism of state-federal checks-and-balances. Considering the American history of consolidation at the expense of the governmental sovereignty retained by the states, the vague constitutional language of Article 122 could be exploited. This is not to say that retaining the state-veto mechanism in the councils is at all healthy for the European federal system. Other means, such as requiring a qualified majority in the European Parliament, are consistent with federalism.

Such a check would be of value in terms of the indefinite freezing of Russian financial assets because the Commission interpreted “appropriate to the economic situation” to be invokable due to a “serious economic impact,” including in “supply disruptions, higher uncertainty, increased risk premia, lower investment and consumer spending,” as well as “non-economic drone incursions, sabotage and disinformation.”[7] Again, higher uncertainty and lower investment and consumer spending provide the Commission with virtually a wide-open door to obviate unanimity in the councils.

Earlier in 2025, the Commission had invoked Article 122 “to set up SAFE which allows member states to directly approve a Commission proposal [by qualified majority rather than unanimously] ‘if severe difficulties arise in the supply of certain produces’ or if a member state is ‘seriously threatened with severe difficulties caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences beyond its control’.”[8] Tellingly, it was the Parliament rather than a state government that objected, which is a telling indication that the Parliament should not have been excluded from the procedure to be followed according to the article.

With regard to the “emergency” said by the Commission to justify invoking Article 122 to indefinitely freeze the Russian financial assets in the E.U., the governor of Belgium, Bart De Wever, “questioned the existence of any EU-wide emergency,” as Russia’s invasion was nearing its fourth anniversary.[9] For instance, only 10% of energy in the E.U. was by that time from Russia.[10] Even though the E.U.’s evident economic woes, coupled with the vague wording of Article 122 and its limited jurisprudence, gave the Commission enough leeway to forge ahead,” using even “the economic situation” to invoke the article is highly problematic, especially as the obvious intent was to undercut the state-veto mechanism, which under the E.U.’s basic law at the time, was valid even though Hungary and Belgium were, for self-interested political and financial reasons, respectively, abusing the mechanism given the norm of consensus in the councils.

The upshot is that the E.U. could do better in tightening its constitutional, or basic-law, language, enlarging the coverage of the Parliament (especially as a check on the Commission). In the meantime, the ECJ should take a look at the Commission’s invoking of Article 122, especially on the Commission’s interpretation that “economic situation” really means “economic emergency,” which actually makes sense so to avoid the article from being invoked for virtually anything, and that an emergency was still the case almost four years after the commencement of the Russian invasion, which does not seem to be a valid claim. In the background is the consolidation by the U.S. of power at the expense of that of the member-states, and the related switch from the state governments appointing U.S. senators to them being elected by the citizens of the states. Citizens of a state may not vote so to protect the remaining governmental sovereignty held by their state, whereas senators appointed by state governors and/or legislatures would naturally have an incentive to keep an eye on the federal division of governmental sovereignty. Nevertheless, the veto power of the E.U.’s state governments, especially as there were 27 at the time of the invocation of Article 122 to freeze Russian assets, is arguably excessive and thus harmful to the E.U. level as well as the federal system itself, which should allow for federal oversight “with teeth” on abuses by state governments, especially in infringing on democracy and liberty.

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1. Jorge Liboreiro, “By Locking in Russian Assets for Good, the EU Is Finally Playing Hardball,” Euronews.com, 13 December 2025.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.

Belgium Eclipses the E.U. on Frozen Russian Assets

Even though the U.S. has compromised the health of its federal system by consolidating so much governmental sovereignty with the Union at the expense of the reserved and residual sovereignty of the states, pitfalls exist at the other extreme too. In the E.U., as long as the states can exercise their sovereignty in foreign policy without respect to the Union, the risk exists that any one state could put its distinct political and economic interests first even if that forestalls united action that the EU could muster on the world’s stage. The risk is aggravated when government officials of a state presume to speak for the entire Union as if they were federal officials. That undercuts the point of having a union of states. The adage, Either we all sail together or we are done for, seems not well known in the state capitals, and even in the European Council and the Council of the European Union.

In early September, 2025, days after E.U. President von der Leyen publicly reopened the matter of using Russian financial assets frozen in the E.U. to pay for Ukraine’s defense and reconstruction, Maxime Prévot, a government official in the state of Belgium told the media that “confiscating those Russian sovereign assets is really not an option for Belgium.”[1] Most of the €200 billions of frozen Russian funds was “held in the Euroclear depository which is subject to EU financial markets regulation.”[2] So even though “Prévot said breaching the rules even in the case of an existential war would leave Belgium and the EU exposed” as risky places for countries to deposit funds, it was the E.U. rather than Belgium to decide on whether to change the financial regulations.[3] It was for the E.U. rather than for a self-interested state such as Belgium to weigh whether making an exception would in Prévot’s words, “create huge bad impact, systemic consequences for the credibility of the European financial services.”[4] At the time, Belgium was not in charge of the European financial services. Even as Belgian officials sought to protect banks in Belgium, the E.U. was in a better position to weigh the risks to future deposits of sovereign wealth funds by other countries against the geostrategic risks should Russia take over Ukraine, and perhaps then look to some eastern E.U. states to invade next. Protecting Belgian banks should not outweigh the strategic interests of the E.U. in pushing back Russia’s President Putin from helping himself to Eastern Europe.

This is essentially an argument that more governmental sovereignty in foreign policy should be delegated to the E.U. from its states, and that state economic interests should not be allowed to forestall such policy. Putting the interests of a part above those of the whole is usually self-defeating, for the dominance of a part can come at the expense of the good of the whole when a united front is needed. Prévot could certainly express his view, but he could not speak for, much less direct, the regulation of the European financial services sector. Moreover, geopolitical interests in international relations and foreign policy do not reduce to what is best for financial regulation.

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1. Shona Murray, “Belgium Will Not Transfer Frozen Russian Assets Despite Commission’s Plans—FM Prévot,” Euronews.com, 5 September, 2025.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.

Resolved: Flanders and Wallonia as E.U. States

On August 22, 2024, Bart De Wever of the New Flemish Alliance group in Belgium resigned as his efforts to form a government had stalled. His group had won the most votes in the E.U. state’s most recent election back in June, at which time King Philippe appointed De Wever to find consensus among five groups on policies such as taxation on capital gains. Belgium’s longest period without an elected government is an incredible 592 days, which was set after the previous record of 541 days that had been set after the 2010 elections.[1] With two culturally-different regions, Belgium has been difficult to govern. Being a state in a union could conceivably help Belgium in this regard.

A day after De Wever resigned, a media report insisted that “Belgium must form a government to file a federal budget to the European Commission by September 20, 2024.”[2] Yet it seems easy enough to miss such a deadline. Rather than look for administrative means by which being in the Union could pressure the state to get its act together on governing, the possible impact may be more basic. Put another way, thinking bureaucratically is not sufficiently “outside of the box.”

Theoretically, there being some governmental sovereignty at the federal (i.e., E.U.) level takes the pressure off a state to form a government because not all governmental responsibilities are handled any longer at the state level. In other words, there is less riding on which groups govern the member state. But the amount of sovereignty that had been delegated by the states to the Union by 2024 was not sufficient to relieve enough pressure, given that the 592 and 541 days had occurred when Belgium was in the European Union. Furthermore, the heady game of politics can make virtually anything seem important to political antagonists, even if major decisions of public policy are taken elsewhere.

So, like the efficacy of any administrative means by which the E.U. might attempt to chide a stalled state into forming a government, taking the heat off is also unlikely to succeed. Being in a union presents Belgium instead with the non-ideological alternative of splitting into two E.U. states without them being foreign. In other words, being in a political union effectively relativizes the fallout from splitting up because both Flanders and Wallonia would still be in the Union; neither, after all, would be the smallest state in the Union. The intractability in governing should be a wake-up call, or indication, that maybe the two regions would be better off as separate states; governing together just hasn’t worked out very well.

Of course, opposing such a change, which seems drastic, is the ideology of nationalism and the related difficulty, especially in Europe, of letting go of some history. The same ideology has manifested in the E.U.’s Euroskeptic parties in the European Parliament to the potential detriment of the Union itself. Even conflating the union with a “bloc” is harmful in that Belgians would not realize the extent to which Flanders and Wallonia would still together by virtue of being states in the same union, which is substantially different than a trading bloc or military alliance. Citizens of Flanders and Wallonia would all be E.U. citizens, for example. They could live and work in the other state, and they wouldn’t have to go through customs in traveling back to visit old friends. Additionally, the currency wouldn’t change. They would all still be represented in the European Parliament.

Ironically, Belgians might even have a greater Flemish and Walloon cultural identity due to greater cohesion at the state level. Identifying more at the federal level—leveraging this—could thus make enhanced regional identity stronger rather than weaker. Il faut séparer être ensemble. It is a pity that thinking outside the box is perceived generally as radical, and thus as easily dismissable, and that making substantial rather than merely incremental change is often an up-hill battle, given the intractability of political will and the related momentum of stasis in the status quo, whether it is working or not.

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1. Angela Skujins, “Belgian Government Talks at a Standstill after Resignation of Key Negotiator,” Euronews, August 23, 2024.
2. Ibid.

The Flemish and Walloons: Worlds Apart?

I contend that the cultural differences between the Flemish and Walloons within Belgium have been exaggerated to such an extent that the state government of Belgium has been paralyzed and solutions have eluded the Belgians. Reducing the fear-induced swelling of the admittedly real differences within Belgium may therefore facilitate relief from the paralysis. In other words, the added perspective from viewing the cultural differences as less traumatic can help the Flemish and Walloons to either live together or, ironically, be able to separate. That’s right—a more realistic assessment of the differences can actually facilitate the separation of Belgium into two (or three) E.U. states (or Flanders joining the Netherlands and Wallonia joining France—and the German-speaking area joining Germany). Exaggerating differences can snuff out consideration of such alternatives and enable continued paralysis.

To be sure, distinctions can indeed be made between the Flemish and Walloons; we can’t simply assume that the overall Belgian (or European) identity relegates the regional distinctions. "I am Flemish first, Belgian second," says Pascal Francois of Aalst.  Another Flemish man says, “it’s a toss-up when I’m in Belgium.” Even though I am a citizen of the U.S. rather than the E.U., I can relate.

I regard myself as a Midwesterner first, Illinoisan second. Being a Midwesterner essentially means to me having imbued the intrinsic down-to-earth culture of my native region of Illinois, which, as mostly rural with only a medium-sized city as its de facto capital, is distinct from Chicagoland (which is less Midwestern than the other regions). To be sure, “the Midwest” is a broad area in mid North America that transcends political categories. The label goes far beyond geographic connotation, for “the Midwest” stands for a certain “home-grown” (rather than foreign) culture wherein honesty (and bluntness), prudence, populism, and humility (and stubbornism) are particularly valued. The Midwest is known as “the heartland” because of these ethical virtues. In Illinois at least, being a Midwesterner can be readily identified with one's specific region because the cultural values are more immediate than the political identification associated with being an Illinoisan. So being a Midwesterner is to being Flemish as being an Illinoisan is to being Belgian. So too, being an American is as being a European, even if the emphasis differs. Ideally, a federal system proffers political expression to each of these respective identities. Unfortunately, fear and the related intransigence (or stubbornness) can block full expression of one or more of the levels of cultural identification.

In the case of giving political expression to regional identification in Illinois, fear of change has gotten in the way. For example, the Illinois Senate could represent the regions (i.e., clusters of four or five counties), hence facilitating their expression. Given how much the regions differ, the result has been a deficit in political identification within Illinois. Because the republic is quite heterogeneous (including linguistically, which, by the way, by no means exhausts the ways in which cultures can differ), I did not grow up identifying myself as an Illinoisan. In fact, the regions in Southern Illinois have more than once attempted to secede from Illinois due to economic, political and cultural differences—mainly from Chicago (whose culture is foreign even from the vantage-point of the two other regions in Northern Illinois). In my late twenties, I visited Southern Illinois once from the North. Even though I am not from the Chicago region, I felt at the time how strange it was that the place was “Illinois.” You’re not Illinois, I thought to myself, this place is different and far away. The people talk differently. Unfortunately, I did not have a regional political identity on which to rest this intuitive reaction of semi-foreignness. Perhaps the Walloons feel a semi-foreignness when they are visiting Flanders (and so too, the Flemish, when visiting Wallonia), though in their case, unlike mine, regional political identification can fortify the regional cultural bases of “home.”

In short, I can understand why a Belgian might identify as Flemish or a Walloon first and want to give political expression to it, given the cultural diversity within Belgium. Such identification is not a bad thing in itself. Of course, whereas there are regional dialects (and some unique vocabularies) in Illinois, Flanders and Wallonia enjoy different languages—indeed it can even be said that these regions enjoy standing for Dutch and French, respectively. Even as language is a major point of difference between the two regions, this basis can indeed be exaggerated, playing on the generalized fear by emphasizing the standing for over simple enjoyment. Il est facile de craindre.

For example, The Telegraph reported in 2010 that “Pascal Smet, the schools minister for Flanders, has horrified [the Walloons] by suggesting that Flemish children, who are Dutch speakers, should learn English as their second language, rather than the French spoken by two fifths of their countrymen in Wallonia.” While being horrified constitutes an over-reaction, Pascal Smet must have known in 2010 that he had “picked a broader fight” under the reasonable rationale that English should be learned because it is becoming the common language of the E.U. "I note that the engine of European integration is sputtering. One reason is that we do not speak the same tongue, hence my plea for a common European language," he said according to The Telegraph.

Of course, Smet could have satisfied his purpose by proposing that English and French be taught to the Flemish kids. His needless insensitivity alone can be seen to have inexorably fomented an exaggerated response. According to The Telegraph, “Smets proposal that children in Flanders can dispense with French [has] deeply angered Belgian Walloons already fearful over their fate and Belgium's future after Flemish separatists won the largest share of the vote in elections.” In other words, even sensible proposals involving the languages can escalate, fueled by the more generalized fear in the context of mistrust.

In short, already-stark differences existing between the Flemish and Walloons are easily exaggerated, creating a self-fulfilling prophesy of separateness wherein people have a knee-jerk tendency to over-react. This can be seen as well where the Flemish and Walloons come into close contact. At least in the short run, integration can provoke flash-points.

According to the BBC, “Flemish defensiveness is at its sharpest near Brussels. The capital, which used to have a Dutch-speaking majority until the early 20th Century, is now overwhelmingly francophone. Its population is spreading outward in search of greenery and cheaper homes - a move that many in the Flemish suburbs find threatening. Liederkerke, a traditionally working-class town 15 miles (25km) west of Brussels, is one of many suburbs that have seen an influx of both rich expatriates and African immigrants.” It is strange that Walloons from the south of the state would be compared to expats and African immigrants.

The cultural differences within Belgium should not be construed as though they were a microcosm of cultural differences within the E.U. or even internationally. For example, the BBC avers that the “cultural divide between Europe's Germanic north and Latin south has run through the middle of Belgium since the Roman Empire.” However, Flanders is not exactly Bavaria, nor is Wallonia populated by Spaniards and Sicilians. That is to say, perspective ought to be maintained in assessing the extent of the cultural differences within a small E.U. state. Let’s not get carried away.

                                               BBC

Of course, as I suggest above, cultural differences do indeed exist between the Flemish and Walloons. Among the relevant factors, economic differences have fueled the continued salience of the regional identities—indeed, in exaggerating them as well. Luc De Bruyckere, chairman of the Ghent-based food group Ter Beke and vice-president of FEB, Belgium's main employers' federation, for example, “points out that Flanders has a very tight labour market, while Wallonia is suffering from 17% unemployment.” Remi Vermeiren, a former chairman of the banking giant KBC, contends that Flemish people "believe more in a market economy" than Walloons. However, I have met Flemish who have stressed the European socio-political virtue of solidarity (which is virtually absent from the American political lexicon).

Therefore, I suspect that the economic ideological differences between the Flemish and Walloons are overstated. It is not as though the Flemish have adopted Sarah Palin’s view of capitalism while the Walloons have adopted a command-and-control economy akin to that of the defunct Soviet Union.

Furthermore, economic disparities have fomented prejudice, which has the effect of exaggerating cultural differences and inhibiting viable solutions. According to the BBC, “Flanders indeed has wealth, a hard-working population, and beautiful, world-famous cities - like Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp. Many there are asking why their taxes should prop up what they regard as a lagging, mismanaged region.” Are the Walloons really not “hard-working” and not able to manage themselves? Such assumptions do not necessarily follow from economic differences. More likely, regions differ economically because their dominant industries are different and perform differently. Even so, Roger Vandervoorde, 65, a retired sales director, for example, told the BBC, “Walloons should be responsible for what they do.” Prejudice drips off this statement, reflecting more on his state of mind than any lack of responsibility among the Walloons. Besides exaggerating cultural differences, such prejudice can impact political recommendations and reactions, which have in turn have exaggerated the differences.

According to the BBC, “resurgent Flemish pride is based on much deeper forces than just material wealth.” Specifically, “The sense of Flemish identity is all the more acute as it was suppressed by the French-speaking elites that ran Belgium after the 1830 revolution. The constitution was written in French. A Dutch version, written a century later, was not given equal legal force until 1967. As the Dutch-speaking majority demanded recognition, it was mainly pressing claims against the Belgian state.” Accordingly, “a wide majority in Flanders reject Flemish separatism. Most people just want more autonomy within the Belgian state.” This autonomy can be read as a reaction from having felt oppressed (or a fear of potential oppression in the future).

The generalized fear interlarding the Flemish is evident in the following observation from the BBC: “Wallonia may be poorer, but it is part of the 200m-strong francophone community. The Flemish are not standing on the shoulders of a friendly giant next door - and can be irked by Walloon cultural self-assurance.” Lest such fear be given too much leeway, the Flemish might recognize that Flemish conservatives have been dominating the Belgian state government of late and that both Belgium and France are states in the European Union. The ECJ, for example, is fully capable of restraining an imperialistic France intervening in Belgium on behalf of the Walloons.

Similarly, a generalized fear has interlarded the Walloons too. This can be seen in the Walloons’ reaction to Vandervoorde’s claim (perhaps made on the basis of his prejudice), “The best would be a confederation, with each part responsible for itself and only a few small matters handled federally.” Perhaps reacting subconsciously to the prejudice in addition to the proposal itself, “the Walloons are digging in their heels. They regard confederation as secession in all but name, and insist on keeping tax and welfare policies at federal level." The Walloons’ political reaction, in other words, may not simply be a desire for continued redistribution. At root, the fear might be that of being rejected. Such emotional/political fear need not exaggerate the perception of cultural differences or natural reactions to them.

Federalism, and even separation, can be natural reactions to real cultural differences. De Bruykere has a point in urging, “We have to organise ourselves in such a way that the different problems can be answered. One size fits all is not a solution.” While this dictum pertains especially to empire-scale unions such as the E.U. and U.S., it can also apply to heterogeneous states such as Belgium and Illinois. Just as the Chicago region ought not dominate the other regions of Illinois, Flanders ought not dominate Wallonia. That the two republics are themselves states in empire-level federal systems can be expected to relegate the “shock” thought to ensue from the partitioning of either Belgium or Illinois.

Even as prejudice can exaggerate the salience of extant cultural differences, being in an overarching federal system can be an asset in dealing with them. Belgium being a state in the E.U. can take some of the pressure off the Belgian government by having a more activist E.U. presence in the state (e.g., dealing directly with Flanders and Wallonia). Alternatively, the E.U. can facilitate Belgium in reconfiguring into two states or in splitting off into the Netherlands and France. Accordingly, Belgians, whether Flemish or Walloon, can afford to take a breath and gain sufficient perspective to stop clutching in fear to what has been at the very least a rather uncomfortable status quo.

Sources:

BBC News, “Rich Flanders Seeks More Autonomy,” September 30, 2008.

Bruno Waterfield, “Flemish-Speaking Belgian Minister Wants English To Be Europe’s ‘Common Language’,” The Telegraph, September 27, 2010.

Related Essay: "On the Belgium Stalemate: The E.U. to the Rescue?"

Wallonia Threatens to Veto the E.U.-Canada Trade Treaty: Complicating State Sovereignty in the E.U.

"The European Union and Canada signed a far-reaching trade agreement on [October 30, 2016] that commits them to opening their markets to greater competition, after overcoming a last-minute political obstacle that reflected the growing skepticism toward globalization in much of the developed world."[1] The obstacle may indeed have reflected increasing resistance at the time to globalization, but this veil can be pulled back to reveal the underlying political obstacle--that of states' rights in the E.U., taken to a crippling extreme.

The complete essay is at Essays on Two Federal Empires.

1. James Kanter, "Canada and E.U. Sign Trade Deal, Bucking Resistance to Globalization," The New York Times, October 30, 2016.

Beyond Breaking California Up into Six States: A Federalist Alternative

In any epoch and in any culture, the human mind displays a marked tendency to accept the status quo as the default—being so ensconced in fact that efforts at real change almost inevitably face formidable road-blocks. In this essay, I analyze the 2014 failed ballot-petition that would have put the proposal of breaking California into six separate states to Californians. I contend that the proponents could alternatively have taken up a more optimal alternative—one much easier to put into effect. Interestingly, that idea comes from the E.U. rather than the U.S.

The full essay is at Essays on Two Federal Empires.

On the Belgium Stalemate: The E.U. to the Rescue?

On June 22, 2011, Philip Claeys, a representative in the E.U. Parliament, once again repeated his demand for Flemish independence, calling for the "orderly break-up" of Belgium. His call came as Belgium was entering its second year without a viable state government. It is no wonder, therefore, that a E.U. legislator would get involved. Repeated attempts had been made in Belgium during the previous year to resolve the political disagreements between Flanders and Wallonia—getting nowhere.

TheParliament.com

The full essay is at "Essays on the E.U. Political Economy," available at Amazon.