Table of Contents
A Revised History of the Future : Notes on Europe and the European Union
How exactly does Tony Blair become President of the European Union?
In 2014, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (which is led by the European Socialists, thus why I usually refer to the bloc by just them, but includes the British Labour Party as a member) runs Tony Blair as their candidate for President of the European Commission. They win control of the European Parliament, and thus he's elected President.
However, following his election, he ends up bickering with the conservative President of the European Council. When the Council President's term ends, Parliament decides to elect Blair to the position to prevent further in-fighting. IRL, this has been suggested as a way to resolve the in-fighting that's been going on between Commission President Barrosso and Council President Von Rampuy - though, it seems Parliament is willing to let the double-presidency continue for now.
How does the EU deal with the genetic design controversy?
Somewhat better, but not by much. Though there isn't an EU-wide anti-Genie movement like in America, there are significant Purity movements within individual EU states. Eastern Europe as a whole is generally more in favor of Purity, while Western Europe is more open to it. The violence against Genies in Europe is comparable to what's seen in the US (the Mulawka murder, for example), but the European public reaches the tipping point and starts rejecting Purity earlier than America.
It is said that Morroco is the first totally non-european state. Do you mean culturally or geographically?
Both. ^_~
As of 2080, how much has European integration progressed (if at all) since the present?
Integration has quietly progressed to the point where some world leaders question why the European Union is granted two seats at the UN Security Council and 30+ seats in the UN General Assembly, rather than a single seat in both. However, you must remember that Europe has continued to follow its own rather unique path down the road of supranationalism rather than regular federalism. Although outsiders may see Europe as one state, Europe itself still sees itself as a loose confederation of states and each state still has a significant amount of autonomy.
Actually, let me rephrase that: each state still has a lot of autonomy…in theory. The fact of the matter, and what drives the perception of Europe as one state, is that European states (with a few exceptions) have stopped exercising their sovereign powers and instead just let the EU handle things like foreign policy, trade, and other traditionally sovereign responsibilities. The European Parliament has, over time, become more powerful than any single legislature in Europe and the Commission's President considered more important than any individual state's leader. It's become a federation through atrophy, rather than legally (sort of how Britain's monarch slowly lost power not legally, but through tradition).
How is internal politics in Europe developing? Is Belgium still intact?
Belgium is still intact. The EU has become a de facto two-party system, much like America, dominated by the European Socialists and the People's Party.
What about Northern Ireland? Is it still a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain?
Yes.
Is Switzerland in the EU?
No, though at this point it's become rather ridiculous that they haven't joined. They do have a non-voting delegation in the European Parliament (sort of like Puerto Rico's non-voting US Congressmen), meant to provide them a voice in deciding European-wide policies. However, although the issue has come up numerous times (at least once a decade) and VERY slowly mounting support, Switzerland has never once even submitted an application.
This state of affairs cannot last forever, but it's managed to persist for far longer than anyone ever anticipated.
If the American parties have shifted so much, what's the current positions of the European and Indian counterparts?
In Europe, they haven't changed dramatically by virtue of American political parties operating differently than the European political coalitions. The European Socialists are, by definition, a coalition of leftist parties, while the People's Party is a coalition of conservatives. I may be wrong on this, but that's the way I've been thinking of them. US parties are more fluid in positions and shift much more over time (thus, the flip).
How bad was the Philippsburg nuclear accident in 2018?
Philippsburg was an unfortunate case. Although the plant was scheduled not to return to service after Germany's nuclear moratorium ended, political winds changed and it was allowed to resume service. The plant had not been properly maintained during the moratorium, however, and as a result contaminated water leaked out and contaminated the soil. The leaks were eventually discovered, but by that point the water supply had been contaminated too. The plant was shut down and residents barred from drinking local well water, but it was already too late and several hundred (possible thousands of) people eventually died of radiation-related cancers.
The lawsuits that followed were NASTY and a second nuclear moratorium was put in place until all the plants were reinspected by German and EU monitors.