European politicians' remarkable speeches 

Talking point: Is Europe heading for a super-state?
source: BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk

As an American cultural student, I find it amusing to see how many in the UK seems to thinks that the US has "a single, binding culture and language". What they do have as a "glue" is the flag, the Declaration of Independence etc, symbols that works as a common culture. America is a union of fifty states, all proud of having their "own" culture etc. Plus, you have the African-American culture, the Latin culture etc. And when we speak of the US, we speak of it as a state, but when we speak of the future EU as a state, we tend to use the word "super". Why is that? Isn't the US more vast (geographically) than the EU can hope to be? What we should do is to look at other federal states, like Switzerland, where for example, each canton decides their own budget.

I find people's concerns regarding loss of cultural diversity ignorant and naive. You just need to look at India and realise that being one country has not reduced the cultural diversities of different nationalities living in the Indian federation. Besides, calling EU a superstate is downright paranoid. The right expression is federation.

This whole debate is riddled with daft contradictions. Schroeder proposes a European government modelled on the German constitution, which in turn was inspired by the British after the last war, to avoid Germany ever becoming an over-centralised 'super-state'. It has worked rather well. Let's have Germany's decentralisation and separation of powers, by all means. But let's also ditch the Commission and Council of Ministers, with their secretive, incestuous bureaucracy. No European government will be credible until it is formed by two elected houses. Then it would have some authority!

I agree with Simon Williams, I am 18 and the coming election will be my first chance to vote. Nearly everyone I know of my own age is far more anti EU than their parents. It shouldn't really be surprising. The EU is a 50's idea from a time when people thought big government was good for us. Now is a time when government should be getting smaller and less intrusive. Of course there are those old fashioned pensioners who don't believe this, but "the next generation" which Europhiles always claim to be on their side is very definitely not!

As for losing our sovereignty, what does that mean? I currently have 1 vote in 50 or so million, hardly much of a say. What will happen with a larger superstate is a devolution of power and democracy down to regional, even local level, providing everyone with a much more significant say over their future. Let's push for a more participatory local democracy!

Our identity is not threatened. We are not British or German or Scottish or Bavarian etc. because of laws or the national political systems. It comes from the situation and the ways under which we are raised. Why are so many people in Europe so uncertain about their identities? A federal Europe is not a matter of identity but of democracy, efficient decision making and common interest. The current situation of the EU, which is correctly described as undemocratic and bureaucratic results from the fact, that the national states still play the key role in decision making. Lets go beyond the national states in European decision making and create a federal system.

Tomorrow's Europe?

The UE in some years: 25 Countries? This will be the overall number if all the candidate countries will join in coming years. Currently the candidates' field is divided into three groups: in the first one we find Hungary, Cyprus, Estonia, Slovenia and Czech Republic which could join in 2004 already. Next to them stand Malta, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Slovak Republic. Bulgaria and Romania surely shall not be in the first enlargement wave. Turkey can be the 28th State, but it has still a long road to go.

One of the possible UE-s: 21 member "States"? In this 2010's European Union we would find 21 Member-States: one of thme is a real federation, i.e. a political Union between France, Germany and the Benelux countries. Their federal capital is Strasbourg, in the federal district of Alsace. Every willing Country could join this Federation of the future.