BERLIN – The global economic crisis has made it clear that Europe remains less than the sum of its parts.
全球經濟危機已說明，歐洲仍小於其成員加起來的總和。

The crisis has presented the European Union with its greatest challenge, but even many committed Europeanists believe that the alliance is failing the test. European leaders, their focus on domestic politics, disagree sharply about what to do to combat the slump. They have feuded over how much to stimulate the economy. They argue about whether the European Central Bank should worry more about the deep recession or future inflation. And they have rushed to protect jobs in their home markets at the expense of those in other member countries.
這次危機讓歐盟面對其成立以來的最大挑戰，但連許多死忠的大歐洲主義者都認為，這個聯盟的考試不及格。把重心放在內政的歐洲領袖，對於該如何對抗經濟不振的看法南轅北轍。他們對於該投入多少預算振興經濟爭吵不休。他們爭論歐洲央行該更憂慮哪一方面，是嚴重的衰退，還是未來的通貨膨脹。而且他們急於保護國內的就業市場，不惜犧牲其他會員國的就業。

The latest European parliamentary elections on June 7 illustrated the point. Only 43 percent of Europeans voted – a record low turnout, despite the financial crisis and compulsory voting in some countries. Far-right parties, opposed to the European Union and to immigrants from poor member countries, recorded gains, as did the Greens. Those who did vote were motivated largely by national issues.
6月7日舉行的歐洲議會選舉充分證明這一點。只有43%的歐洲選民去投票，儘管在金融危機期間且有一些國家強制投票，投票率仍創新低。反歐盟和反對窮會員國移民的極右派政黨大有斬獲，綠黨也一樣。去投票者的動力多半來自於國內議題。

Although the subprime mortgage crisis began in the United States, Europe is arguably suffering more. The International Monetary Fund estimates that European banks hold more bad assets than American ones and have written down much less. Budget deficits are rising, and unemployment, especially among the young, is already at its highest in 10 years.
雖然次級房貸危機始於美國，歐洲可以說受傷更大。國際貨幣基金會估計歐洲各銀行擁有的壞資產比美國銀行還多，而且已打消的壞帳少得多。預算赤字升高，失業率，特別是年輕人，已是10年來最高。

With the response hobbled by a fractious European Union, many economists now expect the downturn to last longer here than across the Atlantic.
內部失和的歐盟阻礙了因應措施。許多經濟學家現在預期歐洲經濟下滑的時間要比大西洋彼岸的美國更長。

“We are in a moment of a very severe crisis,” said Joschka Fischer, a Green Party politician and former German foreign minister. “We have a traumatic lack of leadership; we are caught right in the middle by the flood.”
綠黨政治人物、前德國外長費雪說：「我們處於極嚴重的危機時刻，我們極欠缺領導，被困在這場大洪水當中。」

At the Goodyear Dunlop tire factory in Amiens, in northern France, Thierry Fagot, 36, is losing the job he has held for 13 years. He sees competition within the alliance as part of the reason.
在法國北部亞眠的固特異登路普輪胎廠，36歲的提耶瑞．法戈失去他做了13年的工作。他認為有一部分要歸咎於歐盟內部的競爭。

“I feel like I was fooled. I mean, we created Europe to protect us, and for a long time it worked,” he said, explaining that Europe provided a market for the factory’s tires and established safety rules. “Now, with the competition of Eastern countries, I feel like Europe created this situation where we’re losing our jobs to another E.U. country. How can this be for the greater good?”
他說：「我感覺被愚弄了。我的意思是，我們當初創建歐盟來保護我們，而且有很長時間確實運作得很好。」他解釋說，歐盟提供市場給這家工廠的輪胎，並建立安全規則。「現在，有了東歐國家的競爭，我覺得歐洲作繭自縛，我們的工作機會被其他歐盟國家搶走。如何創造更大的利益？」

Mr. Fischer, the Green Party politician, is a committed European who bemoans “the post-’89 generation’s” indifference to the ideals of a European destiny, and the retreat, under the pressure of the crisis, to nationalist goals and rhetoric.
綠黨政治人物費雪是死忠的大歐洲主義者，哀嘆「後89年世代」對歐洲終極統一的理想漠不關心，在這次危機的壓力下，退縮到民族主義目標和言論。

“Crises are always moments of truth because they relentlessly expose both the strengths and weaknesses of all the players involved,” said Mr. Fischer, criticizing in particular the narrow, national vision of the German government.
費雪說：「危機總是揭露真相的時刻，因為危機無情地暴露所有參與者的強項和弱點。」他特別點名批評德國政府狹隘的民族主義視野。

European leaders are concentrating on passing the long-delayed Lisbon Treaty, to create a European president and foreign minister and simplify decision-making. But the treaty has little to say about economic matters.
歐洲領袖正集中心力要通過延宕已久的里斯本條約，創設一個歐洲主席和外長，並簡化決策過程。但這項條約對經濟事務著墨不多。

The strains are evident in the way countries have worked to bail out their own banks and rescue national factories of global automobile companies, when a broader European policy would be more logical. They are also visible between northern Europe and southern Europe, with more fiscally responsible countries like Germany only reluctantly promising to help floundering economies like those of Spain and Greece.
各國對本國銀行的紓困，以及對跨國汽車公司設在本國車廠的救助方式，明顯出現緊張關係，這時採取層面更廣的歐洲政策會更合乎邏輯。歐洲北部國家和南部國家之間的緊張關係也顯而易見，負擔較多歐盟財政支出的國家，像是德國，不願意承諾幫助經濟陷入掙扎的國家，像是西班牙和希臘。

Solidarity, meant to be the great principle of the European Union, is fraying as well on East-West lines, with the countries that use the euro reluctant to jeopardize the currency’s stability by rescuing members outside the so-called eurozone, like Bulgaria and Romania.
原本是歐盟最高原則的團結，在東西界線上，也快被磨光了。使用歐元的國家不願意因為救助所謂的歐元區以外的國家，像是保加利亞和羅馬利亞，而損害歐元的穩定。

Still, workers in Romania take some comfort in being part of a larger, richer bloc than their old, Soviet one. In general they blame local leaders for their problems.
不過，羅馬尼亞的工作者對於能加入比過去蘇聯集團更大和更富有的集團，感到安慰。他們普遍把他們的問題歸咎於他們本國的領袖。

Cristina Lincu, 32, went to find work in Spain in 2001. Now she is back home, with her husband and baby son. As for the European Union, she is grateful. “It’s a wonder they admitted us in the first place,” she said, laughing. “We have such a big corruption problem here.”
32歲的克莉絲汀娜．林庫2001年去西班牙找工作。如今她已帶著丈夫和襁褓中的兒子返鄉。對於歐盟，她心存感激。她大笑說：「當初他們讓我們加入就是奇蹟，我們這裡的貪腐問題這麼嚴重。」

原文參見：
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/world/europe/09union.html 

Interactive Map: Fracturing on Economic Lines http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/06/08/world/0609-union-maps.html

2009-06-23/聯合報/G5版/UNITED DAILY NEWS 田思怡 原文請見6月23日紐時周報七版左