The United States of Europe?

[Brown, Jon Brow]

:erm:

What would people think if the EU became one nation?

What it change our daily lives? It might if we all had the Euro, and what would the national language be? German is currently the most common in Europe :\ (mostly due to Germany being the biggest country in Europe)

What about the world stage? Would it be a superpower? Well it would have a larger economy than the US as these 2006 figures show?

European Union $14,527,140
United States $13,244,550


Do you think it would be workable?

[Eki]

:erm:

What would people think if the EU became one nation?

What it change our daily lives? It might if we all had the Euro, and what would the national language be? German is currently the most common in Europe :\ (mostly due to Germany being the biggest country in Europe)

What about the world stage? Would it be a superpower? Well it would have a larger economy than the US as these 2006 figures show?

European Union $14,527,140
United States $13,244,550


Do you think it would be workable?
I don't think we have to be one nation or speak one common national language, just that we pull together towards the good of everyone.

[Tomi]

:erm:

What would people think if the EU became one nation?

What it change our daily lives? It might if we all had the Euro, and what would the national language be? German is currently the most common in Europe :\ (mostly due to Germany being the biggest country in Europe)

What about the world stage? Would it be a superpower? Well it would have a larger economy than the US as these 2006 figures show?

European Union $14,527,140
United States $13,244,550


Do you think it would be workable?

It will never become 1 nation, and that is good.
The euro it self is I think is good, only problem is that too many countries has loose monetary policy that makes problems to those countries that dont have.
On the world level it's already an economic superpower, and the gap will be bigger to other countries, China also will become big.
Military superpower i dont see any need to become because we in europe have no real enemies, some countries maybe has created them self enemies, but thats not really an European problem.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

What city would be the capital?

[Tomi]

Berlin would be a good choice for capital, nice town and in the center.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I reckon it would be Brussels, even though London is the biggest city in the EU.

[Drew]

Civil war, perhaps?

[Ian McC]

It could well happen, I don't think it will include the UK though.

[Eki]

Civil war, perhaps?
I hope not. You have your civil war with Danny Boy.

[Drew]

I hope not. You have your civil war with Danny Boy.

Luckily for me I'm currently in a different country than he is and that makes me safely sleep at night ;)

Could you imagine if the EU became one country and the law about gay marriage came around?

There are some issues that the whole of the EU won't agree on and for that purpose I don't think it should become 1 country...

[Eki]

Luckily for me I'm currently in a different country than he is and that makes me safely sleep at night ;)

Could you imagine if the EU became one country and the law about gay marriage came around?

There are some issues that the whole of the EU won't agree on and for that purpose I don't think it should become 1 country...
You are right about that. If for example Poland discusses if the Teletubbies are gay and still want to be in the EU, I think it's too early to talk about one country.

[Drew]

You are right about that. If for example Poland discusses if the Teletubbies are gay and still want to be in the EU, I think it's too early to talk about one country.

And of course if we are to have Balkan countries coming into the EU, then there will be more diversity and more difficulty on such issues.

[Rollo]

Civil war, perhaps?

Absolutely.

Considering that it had two of the bloodiest wars in history last century, and that at best the current EU is founded on mistrust and the hope that it doesn't happen again, to get 19 states with multiple languages and culture to be one country is nigh on impossible.

Think of the UK. Scotland and Wales have expressed in the past that they don't like being decreed to by Whitehall, so multiply that by about 100 and then see how that works.

I don't see the EU lasting much beyond 2030. When issues like water usage and scarcity of petrol become an issue, just watch the internal pressures escalate.

[Mark]

What it change our daily lives? It might if we all had the Euro, and what would the national language be? German is currently the most common in Europe :\ (mostly due to Germany being the biggest country in Europe)


German language might have the most 'native speakers', however if you discount that and include all the languages that people can speak competantly, then I have no doubt English would be the most widely spoken by some considerable margin.

[Donney]

I think it would be difficult, but there is plenty of time to solve all the issues discussed here, we may not see it but I think it could happen.

I would change the name though, there are enough United States in the world.

[DonnieDarco]

I hope it never happens. I would rather all the countries of Europe kept their own identities. There is simply no need for this to happen.

[Rudy Tamasz]

If EU countries are to merge into a single state-like entity, it'll be a big fat socialist empire a la Soviet Union, highly taxed, strangled by PC and ruled by incompetent bureaucrats, elected by nobody and accountable to nobody. I hope it'll never happen.

[johnny shell]

it seems like the European countries are too different right now to be one country. plus it seems like a lot of you don't like each other very much.

But maybe having the EU will start the change, and maybe in a few generations things will be different. Maybe kids born nowadays will start to think of themself as European instead of French or British or English or whatever.

[gm99]

to get 19 states with multiple languages and culture to be one country is nigh on impossible.



Nineteen? Last time I checked there were 27 member states...

Other than that, I agree that an even closer union would just lead to me problems: Historically, from the Roman Empire onwards, large unions of states have never worked too well and tended to dissvolve into a bloddy mess (the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Empire, the Soviet Union), with the notable exception of the US, which however is a totally different stories, as the states it is made of have not been truly independent prior to joining the union.

[ioan]

Nineteen? Last time I checked there were 27 member states...

Other than that, I agree that an even closer union would just lead to me problems: Historically, from the Roman Empire onwards, large unions of states have never worked too well and tended to dissvolve into a bloddy mess (the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Empire, the Soviet Union), with the notable exception of the US, which however is a totally different stories, as the states it is made of have not been truly independent prior to joining the union.

Those larger unions you are talking about were not based on democracy but oppression, so maybe there is however a chance.

[Captain VXR]

If EU countries are to merge into a single state-like entity, it'll be a big fat socialist empire a la Soviet Union, highly taxed, strangled by PC and ruled by incompetent bureaucrats, elected by nobody and accountable to nobody. I hope it'll never happen.

Spot on Rudy :up:

[janneppi]

If EU countries are to merge into a single state-like entity, it'll be a big fat socialist empire a la Soviet Union, highly taxed, strangled by PC and ruled by incompetent bureaucrats, elected by nobody and accountable to nobody.
And how is that different of what we have now? :)

[Mark in Oshawa]

Rudy, you understand the mess that would be made better than most.

The States of Europe can have their economic union now, and it works really well, but you have too many people who have their own ethnic and traditional identities to shed before it would ever even be considered to be one nation. What is more, the world would be poorer for it. Europe is many small nations (Geographically) with a lot of wealth, trade and cultures all going back and forth. To try to make it all one would be tragically misguided.

The US of A would also clean their clocks economically. Why? Simple. Americans wouldn't be wasting the time and tax dollars on trying to keep everyone rowing the same direction that a unified Europe would need to spend. Right now, every nation has an interest in keeping the economy going, but they have their autonomy. Trying to make them all one on social issues, cultural issues and their economies would be pushing it.

OH ya, I also agree, when natural resources are scarce and other major issues of difference come about, we shall see just how well the EU works. Any group that has the French in there has a chance to fly apart, as the French do have a history of being self interested in their own goals when the chips are down. Maybe that is as it should be, but the point remains, is some in Europe (my opinion only) have some rather naive notions on how nationalism is now dead.....

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I don't think many British people could live with being the same nationality as the Germans or French.

[BDunnell]

There will never be a European 'superstate' and I can think of no serious suggestions that it will ever happen. Simple as that. Some of the more ridiculous right-wing commentators may believe that the EU is a Franco-German plot to take over the whole continent, but this is nonsensical and doesn't bear serious analysis. Neither does the idea that all the other EU countries are willing to give up their national sovereignty 'just like that', unlike us stoic Brits. The French are just as proud of being French, the Spaniards of being Spanish, the Germans of being German, and so on, as we are of being British.

I would class myself as being pro-European, but not pro-EU because I believe its institutions are wasteful, often undemocratic, sometimes corrupt, largely unaccountable and mostly, in the eyes of the public, illegitimate.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

There will never be a European 'superstate' and I can think of no serious suggestions that it will ever happen. Simple as that. Some of the more ridiculous right-wing commentators may believe that the EU is a Franco-German plot to take over the whole continent, but this is nonsensical and doesn't bear serious analysis. Neither does the idea that all the other EU countries are willing to give up their national sovereignty 'just like that', unlike us stoic Brits. The French are just as proud of being French, the Spaniards of being Spanish, the Germans of being German, and so on, as we are of being British.

I would class myself as being pro-European, but not pro-EU because I believe its institutions are wasteful, often undemocratic, sometimes corrupt, largely unaccountable and mostly, in the eyes of the public, illegitimate.

Am I right in thinking that many countries in the EU such as Spain give complete disregard to EU legislation and ignore it?

BDunnell - I don't know how you came about your first statement! How can you be so sure there won't be a superstate? 100 or so years ago , who then would have thought we could have an EU now, with a single currency? They laugh at anyone who suggested it.

I may not happen in our lifetime but I think that it is inevitable that one day Europe becomes one nation.

[BDunnell]

BDunnell - I don't know how you came about your first statement! How can you be so sure there won't be a superstate? 100 or so years ago , who then would have thought we could have an EU now, with a single currency? They laugh at anyone who suggested it.

I may not happen in our lifetime but I think that it is inevitable that one day Europe becomes one nation.

I have never been aware of any demand for a European 'superstate' on the part of either Europe's citizens or the vast majority of its politicians. I simply cannot imagine it happening.

[Tomi]

I have never been aware of any demand for a European 'superstate' on the part of either Europe's citizens or the vast majority of its politicians. I simply cannot imagine it happening.

agree, also i cant see what that would be good for.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

I have never been aware of any demand for a European 'superstate' on the part of either Europe's citizens or the vast majority of its politicians. I simply cannot imagine it happening.

There might not be any great demand for it at the present moment but the world never stands still. In 50 years or so time more people might think that a European nation is a good idea.

A European nation might eventually happen or a might never happen.
You don't know! I don't know!

[ioan]

Having a European Constitution and getting the laws aligned in all the countries will already be a major step ahead, and I would say that it will be more than enough.

A European state is out of question. Many European countries are federal countries and many others are considering becoming federal countries because it is clear that smaller entities can be more efficient from almost every point of view.

EU's strength resides, in my opinion in the economical aspects of the union and that's all.

[fandango]

Am I right in thinking that many countries in the EU such as Spain give complete disregard to EU legislation and ignore it?

What do you mean by "countries such as Spain"? Is it because those excitable Latins don't know how to stand in an orderly queue and do things in a civilised manner? :)

[Brown, Jon Brow]

What do you mean by "countries such as Spain"? Is it because those excitable Latins don't know how to stand in an orderly queue and do things in a civilised manner? :)

I've just heard Spain mentioned in the media on EU matters ;) Maybe they are quite Euro sceptic in Spain as they only joined the EU relatively recently :\

[FrankenSchwinn]

as long as we keep the UK out of the "one nation" it's doable.... wait, the current europe is almost like one nation right now....

[CharlieJ]

as long as we keep the UK out of the "one nation" it's doable.... wait, the current europe is almost like one nation right now....
I'd be happy enough with that. ;)

[BDunnell]

as long as we keep the UK out of the "one nation" it's doable.... wait, the current europe is almost like one nation right now....

In what sense?

[fandango]

I've just heard Spain mentioned in the media on EU matters ;) Maybe they are quite Euro sceptic in Spain as they only joined the EU relatively recently :\

Well, I think you're being very unfair to Spanish people to say they ignore EU laws. They're quite capable of ignoring EU and/or Spanish national and regional laws in equal measure :D

On a more serious note, the "media" is very different in the UK to Spain in my experience. The objective ideas we think we have are often very compromised by where we are...

[Drew]

I've just heard Spain mentioned in the media on EU matters ;) Maybe they are quite Euro sceptic in Spain as they only joined the EU relatively recently :\

I think that's more of a stereotype. Like Spain, Greece, Italy and France don't listen while Sweden, Germany, Finland and Belgium do.

Whether it's true, I have no idea.