The Concert of Europe

The EU certainly has many things said of it, some going as far as to say that it is repeating the Tower of Babel . Today, however, I read a historical parallel I have never seen before: that the EU is in fact a mirror of the Congress of Vienna. Of course, the Congress of Vienna, it makes perfect sense. Think about it:

Who headed the Congress? von Metternich

Who heads the EU? Van Rompuy

Eerily similar isn't it? The similarities are endless! As the linked comparisson states:

The parallel between 1815 and 1945 is interesting as both years marked the defeat of a tyrant whose armies had totally destroyed the societies and countries of Europe, rewriting laws, relationships, and creating a new society.

OK, not sure that Napoleon and Hitler really form a fair comparison; seems like Hitler was somewhat of the antithesis of the Napoleonic Code, but I can see some parallel. What else?

The goal of the Congress of Vienna was the complete removal of any trace of Napoleon’s activities – putting Europe back to where it was before the French revolution. Not only were the Germans defeated in 1945 but the Allies reestablished all the old boundaries and governments. It took many years before the event that we would consider equivalent to the Congress of Vienna occurred. The Treaty of Rome created the Common Market in 1956 to make it impossible for another war to occur in Western Europe. Both major treaties were reactionary events as they put things back to where they were before the periods of war and both were extremely successful for a long time. 

Um, no.

Yes, the Congress of Vienna sought to remove all traces of Napoleon, and turn back the clock of Europe. The Congress sought to, and did, somewhat arbitrarily redraw the map of Europe, reestablishing separate and feuding states. This is very much a reactionary thing. Von Metternich aimed at establishing a balance of power in Europe among different nation.

By contrast, the EU was the opposite of reactionary. The Common Market reduced the barriers between countries. The EU has sought to lessen the effect of national borders, increasing the mobility of people and property. Rather than establishing a balancing of power, the EU seeks to unite powers. In essence, the EU is the antithesis of the Congress of Vienna. Rather than seeking to divide up Europe, the EU is established to unify it. Yes, the form of that unification is up for debate (a super state, a federation, a liberalized common market, etc.) but it is a unification nonetheless. The Treaty of Rome and the EU in general is not seeking to "put things back where they were before the period of war". The European Idea is the to move things away from the way they were, the counter to the reactionary Congress.

Just because both the Congress of Vienna and the Treaties of Rome, Maastricht, and Lisbon involved the countries of Europe getting together to accomplish something does not mean that they are parallels. If anything, the goals of the EU are much more in line with the views of Napoleon than von Metternich, but that might not be the best pro-EU argument...