Mr Barroso, European Commission President has a way with words. In January 2013, he declared “that the existential threat against the euro has essentially been overcome”. More recently (April 3, 2013) he pronounced “that the EU has come through the worst of the crisis”. Really? And, just yesterday he was at it again, lecturing France on the need to hack into welfare payments and worker protections. Meanwhile, Eurostat released the first-quarter 2013 National Accounts publication – Euro area GDP down by 0.2% and EU27 down by 0.1% – a few hours after Barroso was on French radio delivering his threats. The data is shocking which is a euphemistic way of saying _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (fill in your own expletive). There are now 10 Eurozone nations in recession. The overall monetary union has been contracting for six consecutive quarters (that is, 1.5 years). And the situation will deteriorate even further. When does someone conclude that the current policy framework is a total failure and causing massive permanent damage? When will these lug heads in Brussels realise they are not only destroying the fabric of prosperity but also jettisoning their political aspirations – for one Europe? Amazing.