The European Union is unpopular where it counts the most: in Europe, according to Dr. Liam Fox, a 22-year member of British Parliament and former Secretary of State for Defense in the United Kingdom.
"A very clear message has gone out from the people of Europe which is that they do not like the pace or direction of the European Union,'' Fox told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.
"The European economy is not in a great place and it's the inevitable result of European social democracy.''
Fox, author of "Rising Tides: Facing the Challenges of a New Era,'' said the EU makes up 7 percent of the global population, 25 percent of the GDP and 50 percent of global social spending.
"That is completely unsustainable and there's going to be a lot of pain, and unless we take it now it means that we're passing debt and further pain onto future generations and that's not acceptable,'' Fox said.
"What we need is for Europe and indeed the United States to start living within their means, not keeping building up debt on for the next generation. The best way to do that is to see our spending reduced.''
Fox said a major problem in Europe is that the economy is "very flat.''
"Not least because the euro as a project was designed to be a hard currency at whatever expense and in countries like Spain you've got 58 percent youth unemployment,'' he said.
"Those who are congratulating themselves or have done in their view such a great job in creating the euro might want to ask the unemployed citizens of Europe whether they think it's such a good idea."