An interesting proposition (and seemingly fiscally sound), but it misses a lot of the point of the European integration, which is long term peace in Europe.
Separating Germany seems a particularly bad idea in that context.
On the contrary; if the conditions continue to deteriorate, I fear a violent disturbance of peace coming from the southern countries. There's a reason why Greece's far-right party Golden Dawn raised from 0.23% to almost 7%, and I can see that happening in other countries where unemployment is rampant and poverty rising.
Not going to happen. Europeans knows the true cost of war on our home soil -- the prohibitively high cost -- and we are quite used to small humiliations to keep the peace.
I'm not sure that he is suggesting it, but it is a reasonable worry. Not in the near term of course, say over the next 20 years or so. Within that time frame, a war within Europe is almost unthinkable. However, combine the geopolitical situation in Europe with a new generation or two for whom the disintegration of the Euro is the defining event in their perception of Europe, and mindsets will change.
In the face of declining European integration, our best long-term hope against wars would be the declining size of populations combined with a relative dearth of resources. Some people are hopelessly optimistic that this is enough, but I personally wouldn't count on it.
Any war-related worries one might have if Germany leaves the currency union or the EU should also apply to Norway [edited] and Switzerland (not in the EU at all), as well as the UK, the Czech Republic and Hungary (in the EU, but not Euro nations).
So is a war between the Czech Republic and Hungary, or Finland and Sweden a reasonable worry over your 20 year timeframe?
I don't think there is any immediate prospect of war. However, I can't help recalling the start of Nial Ferguson's "The War of the World":
"The world at the beginning of the 20th century seemed for most of its inhabitants stable and relatively benign. Globalizing, booming economies married to technological breakthroughs seemed to promise a better world for most people."
I'm sure everyone then thought that a war in Europe was impossible - even for no other reason than how closely related all of the relevant Royal Families were. And yet we all know how that turned out.
Which is strange, because the Germans' desire for "closer European integration" was what gave us the second world war in the first place. (Also, the first.)
We could have saved a lot of lives and effort if we'd just gone along with their idea the first time around. Sure, the capital would be in Berlin instead of Brussels, but is that a big problem?
I would say the EU makes thread of war bigger. Peacefully trading is much better then forcing them all under the same system.
We can see that happening, do you think people would say that Germany is trying it economicly instead of with war. This would not be the case without the EU.
Separating Germany seems a particularly bad idea in that context.