European superstate

"European superstate" is a term mainly used to describe greater political integration in Europe, generally in the form of a reformed European Union, although it could also be linked to other historical attempts to bring the continent together as one single national entity. This has included the idea of a common fiscal policy, a common debt and a common military, among other things.

The implication of the loss of individual state's national identity with the replacement of one single homogeneous identity by a European superstate has been criticised by individuals such as Nigel Farage from the UK Independence Party (the most prominent Eurosceptic political party in the United Kingdom), who believes that "by forcing [disparate European nationalities] together into this European block ... what you will do is to create nationalism".

History

See also: History of the European Union

Winston Churchill's speech after the Second World War calling for "a sort of United States of Europe" has been seen by some as a precursor to the concept of a European superstate. Viviane Reding, vice president of the European Commission, mentioned the concept of a United States of Europe:

We need a true political union. To me this means that we need to build a United States of Europe with the Commission as government and two chambers – the European Parliament and a "Senate" of Member States. But there are of course other opinions out there for the future of Europe. You might have other ideas as well. And that is how it should be. We need to have a broad debate before we start to make the big changes required.

Bruno Waterfield writes in The Daily Telegraph that "Mrs Reding's vision, which is shared by many in the European institutions, would transform the EU into superstate relegating national governments and parliaments to a minor political role equivalent to that played by local councils in Britain".

Traditionally, the term "European Superstate", particularly within the United Kingdom, is used as a criticism of further integration into the EU with the term implying a forced loss of national sovereignty, although the term has occasionally been used positively in the British press.

In the 1950s and 1960s Europe saw the emergence to two different projects, the European Free Trade Association, led by the UK, and the much more political European Economic Community, led by France and Germany. It has been claimed that a similar division to this persists today: On the one hand, there are those European countries, some inside and some outside of the EU, who see Europe largely as a free trade zone, and are reluctant to further integrate politically. On the other hand, there is the Eurozone, a group of countries which are committed to a common political unity.

Individuals such as the former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer have said the EU must in the end become a single federation, with its political leader chosen by direct elections among all of its citizens. However, claims of this creating a "European superstate" have been rejected by former UK European Commissioner Chris Patten and many members of the EU.

See also

• European federalism – often associated with an alleged imposition of a European superstate.
• International Paneuropean Union