Is Europe set for a long slow decline?

[VHG]

I was reading the question from Bobbisox below about foreign workers coming here and working for less than the local people as the local people can claim more benefits so dont need to work.

Also reading in the paper yesterday about Greece having trouble sorting out its financial problems with well paid civil servants refusing to make any changes to their salary and perks or retirement age, and generally having huge tax evasion in the country.

Other European countries like Ireland, Portugal, Spain are all having major financial problems.

And even the countries that are not having these type of problems have been hit by the worldwide recession, with rising unemployment, government cuts and so on.

And almost all countries in Europe have other problems like an ageing population, pension black holes, spiraling benefit costs, much unwanted and illegal immigration and so on.

And of course the spiraling cost of the EU that cannot be maintained.

And it got me wondering are we like the old Roman Empire that just became too big, too bloated, too lazy and too corrupt to continue and eventually imploded on itself.

I am not saying it will happen in the next few years, maybe not for a few decades, but eventually the train will hit the buffers, the EU will collapse, all European countries will finish up with major financial problems, and Europe will never be the same again.