To this day, economists pointing out that fundamental problem have been ridiculed as hopelessly naive because, as the mantra goes, the European project has always been, and always will be, a political construct to keep the Europeans off each other's throats.

That charge is not only false, but it also bears the seeds of its own destruction.

Taking hundreds of billions of euros of purchasing power out of the monetary union, Germany makes it virtually impossible for other euro area economies to grow and create jobs as they struggle to bring down their public debts and deficits.

Instead of accumulating enormous wealth on the back of its euro partners, Germany should stimulate its domestic spending to buy more goods and services from them.

At the same time, Germany can relieve its growing labor shortages by offering jobs to more than 17 million EU people that are currently looking for work and a meaningful future.

And there is more: Recycling some of last year's roughly $300 billion trade surplus — through direct investments in the rest of the EU — Germany would boost economic growth and employment in other countries in the bloc, solve the problem of its shrinking manpower and adjust its overflowing external accounts.

Those would be appropriate economic policies for a country running large and systematic trade surpluses. Such policies would also even out the intra-area growth dynamics and stabilize the monetary union in a more homogeneous manner.

And none of that would be actions of EU solidarity loathed by the tight-fisted German government.

It is no wonder that the "everyone for themselves" attitudes have led to the revival of nationalism, alienation from the European project and an increasing popularity of "my country first" slogans — even in places like Italy, where the traditional idea of a united, peaceful and prosperous Europe inspired generations.