Others blamed that same Pact for obliging them to adopt tough budgetary policies, rather than explaining that these policies were for the good of their countries and of future generations. People inevitably asked: if the Pact is stupid, why did we sign it? And if it is indeed stupid, why do we have policies that comply with it?
Too frequently the European Union has been asked to act on specific issues by the national authorities, but the latter have not given the EU the means and powers to do so. How many times have there been calls for a common energy policy by the very same authorities who were at the same time negotiating bilateral agreements with energy producers?