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Yanis Varoufakis, the former finance minister of Greece, has claimed that the European Union is in an "advanced state of disintegration". In a withering tirade against the bloc, the leading economist said that crumbling European institution would crash out of existence in just six years. EU leaders are gathering in Rome to mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, the accord that spawned the European Union project. Speaking about the anniversary of the founding document, Mr Varoufakis claimed that Angela Merkel and Jean-Claude Juncker "had nothing to celebrate".

GETTY Varoufakis claimed that Angela Merkel and Jean-Claude Juncker "had nothing to celebrate"

He told Bloomberg: "We are not in Rome to celebrate, there is nothing in Rome to celebrate. "The EU is at an advanced stage of disintegration. The European idea is in retreat everywhere. "We need to save Europe from itself - and to make Europe something worth saving." The former Greek minister, who famously went head-to-head with the Brussels establishment over the Greek debt crisis, called for "drastic action". Mr Varoufakis has said that Brussels needs to give up its power grab for control and give countries back their sovereignty.

GETTY Is the European Project in freefall?

GETTY EU leaders are gathering in Rome to mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome

The EU is at an advanced stage of disintegration Yanis Varoufakis

Mr Varoufakis claimed that the European project was falling apart faster than anyone realised. He went on to warn that if Europe does not change how it governs, then the EU will not exist by 2023. The former minister said: "What there is no appetite for is more Europe, for more power to Brussels and taking away sovereignty." The man who is now leading Diem25, a pro-European thinktank, unveiled a pro-growth European New Deal yesterday, which he claims will focus on "common problems across the continent, including Britain". He pointed to public debt, low levels of investment and growing poverty as a common cause for the EU to get behind.

BLOOMBERG Yanis Varoufakis, the former finance minister of Greece

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