Alfred Pijpers
Alfred Pijpers is Professor of International Relations at the Leiden University in the Netherlands. He has also worked as researcher on European programmes for the independent international think tank Clingendael Institute. He is the author of several books, including The Politics of European Treaty Reform (Pinter Publishers, 1997).
Updated: 25 April 2012
Instead of dreaming about a federal union which would be at the mercy of countries that are democratic and economic underperformers, a Dutch political scientist argues that we would do better to reinforce the role of more efficiently functioning states and allow them to take care of business.