Friday I finally asked some friends on FB to explain it to me. The answer I got was that this was a symbol that is related to a lot of other issues people care

Friday I finally asked some friends on FB to explain it to me. The answer I got was that this was a symbol that is related to a lot of other issues people care about, both overseas and at home. So the thing itself is not as important as what it might symbolize or portend. I think this agrees with what you list. Still, my interest is in free countries peacefully deciding how they want to govern themselves. Much more than their actual policy changes or what it might portend. If I had to have an opinion, simply from watching the monetary policy sausage-making, I think the EU is a beta. And like many betas, it's structurally broken. That doesn't mean stay or leave. I really have no idea how you would go about fixing these structural issues. I imagine that no matter what some folks might think, there are no easy answers. Anything you do is going to suck in one way or another.