EU Federalism

8 Pages 1991 Words

Explain what you understand by a ‘federal Europe’

The signing of the European Constitution on the 29th October 2004 marks the latest step in movement stretching half a century; the integration of European states to promote stability and prosperity across the continent. Yet, this step has once again ignited a debate on European federalism, with fears prevalent in many countries of the establishment of a European state, a single entity that makes the states redundant. The aim of this essay is to examine the extent of federalism within the European Union (EU) to explain what a federal Europe means, how it already exists, and why it does not mean a ‘United States of Europe’.
This essay shall begin with a necessary distinction between federalism and confederalism. It will be seen how the modern conceptions of these ideas came about following the establishment of the USA. This will allow a more detailed evaluation of the state of European integration. Following from this, it will be shown how the ‘fathers’ of European integration, namely Monnet and Spinelli, clearly had federal-style objectives for Europe in their ultimate goals of establishing a strong peace order in the continent. Nevertheless, it will be seen that it was functionalism, rather than federalism, that provided the mechanism for the beginning of European integration. Thirdly, this essay shall examine the common belief that the EU at present is a confederation of separate states. It shall be seen how the initial ‘economic confederation’ that was established by the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) has grown and expanded in many directions and levels. The present day, with the signing of the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe on the 29th October 2004, has moved well and truly beyond this confederal image. Yet, Europe remains an entity of states, not individuals. The final part of this essay shall show how, despite federal tendencies and incr...