I don't know where I read this, but I always thought the EC/EU/Euro was an effort by the allied countries to tame a future German economy. If that's true, then Germany distancing themselves would surely defeat the purpose of the union.
It was more successful in driving business than thought, so the scope was extended over time. No need to stick to a single goal only.
Far-right in Europe means you want to keep 'socialist' free health care and schools - you just don't want to share them with anybody with darker skin.
European history has been littered with examples of bitter and costly wars between nations and states. We (the world) are still resolving the aftermath of the Bosnian conflict.
There are very smart people wringing their hands over the collapse of the EU and the kind of social turmoil that might develop if the economies of these nations fail. The riots we saw in Greece and Italy were just a teaser.
In 2008, when the US was looking at its own financial crisis, one of the items on the minds of the policymakers was the very real prospects of riots in US cities. There were stories of financiers packing up and leaving the country in anticipation of what might happen.
The biggest mistake you can make is to think your country is immune to ruin. History has shown us many times that it comes quickly and with little or no warning.
The fact that we still have the same problems across cultures, genders, races, and geography seems to bolster this view.
Things change, but not nearly as much as we might like, and only at the margins.