A two-speed Europe is in the news again. The term sprouts wherever one turns. Supposedly, that is what Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, actually wants at this juncture. But anyone who knows anything about Europe can tell you that the sub-continent can only dream about two speeds only. As I wrote to The Economist a bit more than a year ago, at least five speeds are in evidence in the European Union already (“A Five-Speed Europe: A Letter to The Economist,” May 25, 2011). “Soon enough it may well sprout twenty-seven speeds,” I added, “thus questioning the very notion of union however defined.” Well, this will have to be amended in a bit more than a year from now. It is good to remember that Croatia will be joining the vaunted Union as the twenty-eighth member!