The European Union is NOT a nation! And since when did they have a team at the Olympics! Combining the total of medals is simply a ploy by whining nations like France to mask their poor performances...and a cynical attempt by the EU mandarins to refuse to recognise the efforts of individual sovereign nations.
Translation: Your country sucks at sports so you'll unite with other countries under a single banner, and all of you less than athletic nations will feel good in saying you are winners when you are really not. Got it.
Nice try, but it doesn't work like that. If the United States could put three athletes from each state we would pull a lot more medals. If the EU gets to put in six soccer teams, six basketball teams, Eighteen athletes in individual events.....they will pull in more medals If you want to track them as one country....limit their athletes to three per the whole EU
"By the way: The comparison is of course not entirely fair. The 27 EU countries have much higher quota of starting positions than individual competing nations. The fictitious "EU team" has therefore a better chance to win medals than the other participating countries. "
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CFYQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2F2012%2F07%2F26%2Fusa-swimming-call-me-maybe%2F&ei=EYk3UIX-GIKK2wXw9ID4CA&usg=AFQjCNHeRTMsR-62PD8XeeXhzoRuqlf00Q USA swimming
