Longtime British feature writer Simon Jenkins expressed the United Kingdom's growing frustration with the EU. He wrote: "The European Union is ghastly. It poisons all it touches. Europe sabotaged Margaret Thatcher's last government. Europe mugged [former Prime Minister] John Major to death. Now Europe has driven Tony Blair [to act unwisely] in Europe. The protectionist cartel is internally corrupt and externally a menace to global trade and peace. Britain's leaders are humiliated whenever they try to reform it" ( The Sunday Times, emphasis added throughout). That's calling a spade a spade. The latest British humiliation consists, over a period of seven years, of losing £7 billion (approximately $12 billion) of the rebate that former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had so skillfully negotiated with the EU. Newspapers (right and left) agreed that the United Kingdom got almost nothing in return for this controversial, "last-minute" concession. At the end of the day, France gave no real ground on the enormous agricultural subsidy payments French farmers regularly receive from the EU. An unexpected development No EU budget deal was expected at the end of Britain's six-month's presidency of the European Union. It appeared effectively blocked. But due to the last-minute U.K. rebate "surrender" (apparently without the knowledge of British Chancellor Gordon Brown, who was in Washington, D.C., at the time), a surprise agreement was produced. However, the biggest surprise of the recent summit among all the leaders of EU member nations was Angela Merkel, the new German chancellor. Some EU politicians hailed her as "Europe's new power broker" as she got the lion's share of the credit for breaking the budget deadlock. Angela Merkel's first month at the seat of German power has generally been judged a very good one in both foreign and domestic affairs. The German upper house of parliament just approved a number of tax reforms that will help reduce the budget deficit. Interestingly enough, "She talks passionately about how a coherent and integrated EU is an essential part of making Europe more competitive with the rising economies of Asia" ( Financial Times ). However, this is not the way in which many Britons view the activities of the EU. Progress by stealth Christopher Booker continued his article on the steady loss of British sovereignty to the European Union. "In recent months ... the EU has continued stealthily to take over so many of the powers of our government and Parliament from behind the scenes—with full permission and even encouragement from our ministers ... "Far from being some kind of setback, the rejection of the new constitution has turned out to be a trigger for one of the EU's biggest power grabs for decades, across a whole range of policy areas, from defence, immigration and taxation, to the way we run our police, our courts and our judicial system" ( Daily Mail ). For instance, the EU is rapidly forming its own police force. The newly constructed "Europe Police College" is now in position to train senior officers all over Europe—with an outpost already pretty much in place in Hampshire County, England. As well, according to The Daily Express, the European Union is apparently planning a direct tax of 3.5 pence on the pound proposed by current European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso. That eventuality will set "the cat among the pigeons." Also, according to a report in The Sunday Telegraph, the European Commission "effectively insists that the provisions of the Charter [of Fundamental Rights] be enshrined in all new EU legislation." Reacting swiftly to this turn of events, Chris Heaton-Harris (Conservative member of the European Parliament from Britain) stated: "This shows that the Commission has no intention of taking any notice of the voters in France and the Netherlands, who decisively rejected their blueprint for a federal superstate." Brussels bureaucrats were further accused of cherry-picking certain parts of the proposed constitution and sending them through the back door. Liam Fox, Conservative British shadow foreign secretary, firmly stated: "I have repeatedly made clear my fear that the EU is determined to ignore the results of the two referenda and instead press ahead with the implementation of many elements of the constitution treaty." This is not how true democracies (or a genuine democratic union) are supposed to function. But it is exactly how some bureaucracies tend to further their agendas. The Bible and the European Union World News and Prophecy has focused a great deal on the political affairs of Western and Central Europe. The reason is that there exists a prophetic connection between the politics of today's Europe and catastrophic future occurrences surrounding the existence of what the Bible defines as a "beast" power at the end of this age (Revelation 13). We are apparently in a transition period that will ultimately end with the glorious presence of the Kingdom of God on this earth. So an integral part of biblical prophecy deals with a latter-day revival of the Holy Roman Empire, predicted extensively in the Old Testament book of Daniel and the New Testament book of Revelation. The Hebrew prophet Daniel spoke of a series of "kingdoms" to arise on the world scene (Daniel 2). Comparing the Bible with secular history, the first of these was the Babylonian Empire (Daniel 2:38). It was followed by three others clearly identified as the Medo-Persian, Greco-Macedonian and Roman empires (verses 39-40). The Roman Empire at the time of the end The fourth and final kingdom, the Roman Empire, was to be stronger than all the others (verse 40). Its reign would last for centuries. Then in connection with this final world empire, the Bible predicts that a group of 10 kings or leaders of nations, through alliances or other political arrangements, will ultimately give rise to a final union that will astound and astonish the whole world (see Revelation 17:12-14). It is on record that the idea of beginning a new Roman Empire was on the minds of the founders of the organization (the European Economic Community or EEC) that eventually gave rise to the present European Union. In spite of some setbacks over the decades, Europe has continued to prosper as barriers to integration (such as national sovereignty) continue to tumble and considerable progress is made in economic and, to some degree, political unity. It is interesting to note that one secular writer recently referred to the general geographical region as "a Holy Roman Empire of Franco-German bureaucracy." What eventually became the expanded European Union began as the EEC (or Common Market) of six nations on March 25, 1957. The 50-year anniversary is only a little over a year from now. Where will we be by then in the fulfillment of Bible prophecy in Europe? Will some astonishing push forward occur at this anniversary time? To understand the essential biblical and historical background of events in Central and Western Europe, please request our two free booklets The Book of Revelation Unveiled and You Can Understand Bible Prophecy. WNP