The European Union as a Federation

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The prospect of a European Federation is not very popular among the different peoples of the European Union, but nonetheless this federation will most likely materialize. The key elements of a federal system are in place: an institutional pact between the member states and their populations; a two-level hierarchical structure; a double citizenship, national and European; and the implementation at the European Union level of major federal tasks. What is the decisive factor which drives this development? It stems from the shortcomings of intergovernmental cooperation, the drawbacks of which push towards communitarization, i.e. the federalization of currency, police and justice, and foreign policy. In a larger sense, Europe is a continent among many others, confronted by a major historical challenge: to insert its huge periphery, from the Baltic states to Morocco, into networks of affluence and peace. Only a federal Europe can master such a huge change. – Summary AFRI-2001