Federalism
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European Council: No federal Europe this winter
13 December 2012232 20 Libération Paris -
Debate: Federal Europe best cure for current gloom
29 October 2012305 44 Corriere della Sera Milan -
Debate: Give us a break with your nation states
25 October 2012193 85 Der Spiegel Hamburg -
Debate: A federation, yes, but what kind?
23 October 2012225 69 Respekt Prague -
Debate: “Europhorics”, our most dangerous friends
22 October 2012365 22 Die Zeit Hamburg -
European integration: We need a referendum on the future of Europe
17 October 2012275 56 Il Foglio Milan -
Eurozone crisis: Federalism or death!
28 September 2012760 194 Le Point Paris -
Debate: Let’s make the United Statelets of Europe
8 August 2012371 99 EUobserver.com Brussels -
Debate: Europe must choose
25 May 201299 29PresseuropThe Economist -
Eurozone crisis: Farewell sweet sovereignty...
8 December 2011349 17 El País Madrid -
Debate: Jürgen Habermas: democracy is at stake
27 October 20111562 6 Le Monde Paris -
Eurozone crisis: They are burying the federal ideal
21 October 2011128 5 Le Figaro Paris -
Eurozone crisis : Would Kohl or Mitterrand really do better?
10 October 2011102 2 De Volkskrant Amsterdam -
Ideas: Why Hamlet is no euro-federalist
28 August 2011232 17 Evenimentul zilei Bucharest -
Political fiction: Onwards to Europe 2.0
30 May 2011245 7 Die Welt Berlin -
Greek crisis: The bailouts are building a federal state
12 May 201178 The Times London -
European integration: Paris and Berlin play it for Brussels
9 February 201155 2 The Times London -
Integration: Federal Europe? It just happened
3 November 2010411 3 The Times London -
Institutions: Welcome to the Holy See of Europe
6 July 201037 The Economist London -
Where is the Union headed? (8): More Europe? No thanks.
5 July 201035 1 Público Lisbon -
Belgium: All hail the Pax Belgica generation
6 January 2010PresseuropLa Libre Belgique
The last EU summit of the year will not take the path of economic and monetary union closer. The fault lies with Berlin and Paris, who have agreed to bury the roadmap which was presented to them by Herman Van Rompuy. The debate on the future of the Union has been kicked into the long grass to return in 2014, after the German and European elections. 
For Italian writer Claudio Magris, the only way to dispel the dismay prompted by the European economic and political crisis is to create a strong, decentralised and respected federal state. 
Those who are arguing today for more Europe have provoked the wrath of the professional democracy purists who hold up the nation state as an ideal model. But do we seriously want to live in a super-Austria? 
Whether it be political, budgetary, or based on financial solidarity, the idea of a more integrated EU is in fashion. But just what final form would the Federal Union take in the end? Nobody really knows, and that’s the whole problem. 
There are the “Eurosceptics”, and there are “Eurohaters”. And then there are the “Europhorics”, who are to be found among both intellectuals and politicians and who are at least as dangerous as the former. To them the EU is not a union, but a worldview – and they are abusing it. 
The European project, as it has been constructed so far by the elites and their "benevolent paternalism", has run up against its limits. The next step towards political union cannot be taken without a direct consultation with the citizens, writes the director of the Italian geopolitical magazine Limes. 
For French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy, Europe has no option but advance towards the simple goal of political union. If not, the euro will die. 
In economics, but also in diplomacy or simply in administration, the size of the country matters. For some EU states, which are too small on a global scale, the model no longer works. The solution? Applying the US model to Europe, suggests journalist Philip Ebels. 
If approved by the Twenty-Seven, the fiscal union proposed by Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy would be a decisive new stage on the path to European federalism. But are all willing to pay the price: the surrender of the budgetary autonomy of states? 
The Eurozone crisis has raised calls for greater political integration of the EU. However, sociologist Jürgen Habermas argues that the tactics adopted by European leaders have sidelined what should be their main priority: the well-being of citizens, established within a democratic framework. 
The 23 October Eurozone summit may be followed by a second meeting on the 26th, requested by France and Germany. Le Figaro argues that this development in the manner in which the crisis is being addressed is proof that in spite of disagreements, the Berlin-Paris axis and the intergovernmental method have prevailed over the idea of a federal Europe.
Are EU leaders failing to step up as real leaders in tackling the current crisis, as we so often hear? According to a Volkskrant columnist, it's more the political division of our time and public opinion that is putting the brakes to their progress. 
Although many commentators have called for it to be established, the United States of Europe remains a chimera, which is incompatible with the history and plurality of cultures on our continent, argues Romanian writer Mircea Cărtărescu. 
Forget the nation-state: Europe would be much better off if it were fundamentally reorganised – into powerful regions in the north and the Alps and picturesque bankrupts in the south 
The bailouts don’t work but they do allow the EU to build up centralised power at the expense of nation states, argues Times columnist Anatole Kaletsky. 
The “pact for competitiveness” is not so much a Franco-German takeover of the EU but a step towards a federal Europe, argues Times columnist Anatole Kaletsky. Which is why its outline for an ‘economic government’ in the eurozone won’t ease the effects of the financial crisis. 
Forget Angela Merkel’s treaty changes or David Cameron’s budget quibbles, the real event at last week Brussels summit was that Europe took an important step towards becoming a single state. 
For most Eurocrats, EU federalism is more than a political conviction, it’s an article of faith. But while nationalism may still be fraught with dangers, nations are still relevant to democracy, points out The Economist. 
To stave off the risk of overindebted member states going bust, the EU 27 have taken steps – e.g. euro stabilisation plan, outline of economic governance – tending towards tighter integration. But once again they’ve done it without asking the European public’s opinion, bemoans Público.