Joschka Fischer took part in a lively panel debate last night on the future of Europe. Questioned on whether Germans would be willing to pay for southern European countries’ profligacy, Herr Fischer replied that, as a federal nation, Germany is used to transferring wealth from one region to another. It would not be so great a leap to expand this logic beyond the borders of the nation state.

You can see Herr Fischer speaking more about the future of Europe here.