Is the European Union a failure or still evolving?

@EuphoricTurtle well only because the immigration problem and losing the UK im sure

@Driver2 What immigration problem? As for the UK leaving it's unfortunate but instead of having a domino effect, support for the EU within the EU actually grew.

@EuphoricTurtlewell there have been some bloody terrorist attacks which can be traced to immigration.
I really don’t know that’s why I asked

@EuphoricTurtle It will probably run a lot smoother now it's rid of the UK.

@Driver2 Describing terrorist attacks as immigration problem is quite a stretch, especially since a lot of them (such as the Paris 2015 attacks) weren't immigrants at all.

@EuphoricTurtle I know but they were recent immigrants that never assimilated and were easily recruited .

@Sharon I think the UK leaving will be a good thing (for the EU) in a sense that the UK was never fully commited, having for instance stayed out of the Euro. It is nevertheless unfortunate.

@EuphoricTurtle If you view the EU as a customs union and an economic single market, it has been moderately successful, but in a mercantilist way. But as a political union it is a mess - and it can be no other; the idea that nations with 24 different languages - more if you include Catalan, welsh, Gaelic etc - and at least that many cultures, can form a true and integrated political union is doomed to always be an aspiration rather than a reality. And for every positive you can name, I can provide a negative, so we won't waste each others time discussing it. But the simple idiocy of having a monetary union without a fiscal union - another impossible dream, speaks to the fundamentally flawed concept of a United states of Europe.

@Driver2 Define recent immigrants? Do you mean immigrant parents?
Abdelhamid Abaaoud was born in Belgium
Salah Abdeslam was also born in Belgium.

@EuphoricTurtle maybe 2nd generation but from what I’ve read as one immigrant communities do not assimilate in Europe that well.
Again that’s what I picked up from news etc

@april50 all you have to look is compare Europe's history in the first half of the 20th century and compare it to the second half to see what a resounding success it has been in bringing peace and prosperity. Like I've said before there are things which it has not yet accomplished, and granted it might never, but overall it is hard to argue against all the benefits that came from it. Economical, Social and other. But of course you're free to have your opinion and not want to substantiate it 😉

@Driver2 2nd generation aren't immigrants. Assimilation is a pretty iffy term. Granted some immigrant communities are more closely knit and cling on to their customs a little more, but that's not something that necessarily leads to terrorism otherwise Chinatowns all over the world would be the biggest terrorist hotspots.

@EuphoricTurtle well like I said that’s not what we hear

@Driver2 In that case I would take this chance to reassess your news sources. I'm European and I've lived in two other EU nations.

@EuphoricTurtle that’s why I asked , the news has too many ‘experts’