"even Germany (what is left of the twin engine of europe) cant even grow"
Unemployment in EU is very different:
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Unemployment_statistics
You have countries like Italy, Spain and Greece (France somewhat too) with historically high unemployment (but those numbers don't take into account illegal employment - historically high in Southern Italy, for example), and others with historically low unemployment rates.
The actual low growth is a problem create exactly by stagnating wages in most of the Western world. USA has the same issue, for the matter. Germany relied too much on exports, and as exports decreased, Germany slowed down too. Yet countries like Germany have space to move, thanks to a sound financial situation.
"destroyed member economies just to survive"
Actually, those economies had systematic issues that the recession heightened, and didn't crash before just thank to the EU sustaining them with low interests on borrowing, and shielding them from imported inflation, which in turn didn't put pressure on wages.
For example Italy issues were fully created in the '80s (when debt soared from 56% to 101%, and taxes as well to pay for interests), well before Maastricht. Remember nobody was forced to join the Euro - and the rules were well known. But some hoped to get the advantages without the disadvantages - more or less the "Brexit attitude", before Brexit.
Just bad politicians prefer to pretend the past never happened, and all the bad guys are EU foreigners only...
For example once again Italy instead of putting expenses under control decided to spend even more in pure electoral interests. In turn citizens very worried about new and even higher taxes which will probably come soon to avoid a default don't spend, nor wages increases.
Greece wasn't better. Mistakes were made to solve the situation, but Greeks were looking for an "having the cake and eat it" solution just like UK still dream for Brexit, which is an added another layer of uncertainty.
But actually the fact that the EU Central Bank could avoid the worse demonstrated the strength of the system, not vice versa. But as Draghi said, most other polices are in the hands of governments and their politicians, and all of them demonstrated to be interested only in short-term electoral gains, and even more so in countries that needed most long-term solutions.
"Of course China grew out of sweatshops by joining the EU?"
What did you smoke? Maybe the same opium UK forced the Chinese to use to expand its business?
Biting the hand that feeds IT
