I think you are missing the point. "Lazy Greeks" and any other potential targets for nationalist demagogues don't have a vote in the Bundestag, but they do have a vote within the EP. If the centre of power were to incrementally move from the Bundestag to the EP as part of the development of a political union, it gives such potential outsiders a voice and a vote where it matters increasingly more.

It won't stop nationalist demagoguery, but it can help to contain it, and make it less productive especially if potential outsider groups align more within the EP and develop common positions. It is very difficult to sell fiscal transfers from Germans to Greeks in the Bundestag: Less so in a more empowered EP especially if it is part of a deal where German interests also get part of what they want.

Index of Frank's Diaries