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Debate: EU federalism
From Debatepedia
[  ] [  ] [  ] [  ] Is EU federalization a good idea? Should the EU become the United States of Europe?
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Background and context
EU is currently about to ratify the Lisbon Treaty - a treaty usually perceived as a first step to the federalization of Europe. The question is, whether the European Union should implement a system involving the loss of national vetoes, while considerably strengthening the powers of the EU Commission, introduce direct Europe-wide elections for an EU Federal Government with a President like the U.S. model. And if so, would that benefit ordinary citizens? Would that benefit Europe as a whole?
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[  ] [  ] [  ] [  ] Is it justifiable to give away the national sovereignty of the European states?
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[  ] Pro
- National sovereignty is a relic. At the time of globalization, at the time when international relations are becoming more and more complicated, the view of state sovereignty - the supremacy of political power a nation has over its own actions - is eroding as our elected leaders are giving away their nations' sovereignty by placing more and more authority in supranational organizations like the UN which are not accountable to voters. New international actors have risen as a result of improved communications and transportation. Multiple channels of communications, which involve numerous transnational alliances, are making the essential borders of sovereignty obsolete.
- International cooperation is sometimes of greater importance. There indeed are some burning issues and problems that can´t be tackled without international cooperation (such as global warming, spread of diseases...). International cooperation effectively means giving authority and power to a legislative body, a council, or an organization - which means that the concept of national state is watered down.
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[ ] Con
- National sovereignty is not obsolete. National sovereignty is essential for one's self-determination, it is an inseparable component of a nation's culture, a value of great importance for individuals.
- National governments are more effective. The more authority international governing bodies, organizations and institutions have, the less can they afford to "bother" with local problems and thus the less effective problem-solving procedure is applied. Not fully understanding local tensions, burning issues in one particular area can in the long term bring great harm to the citizens of the whole federation as one spark can set ablaze a much larger fire than a federal government can possibly imagine.
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[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [  ] Is the federalization of Europe going to benefit Europe economically?
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[ ] Pro
- "Taming" multinationals In a globalised economy, there is a need to tame multinational corporations, which would be otherwise capable of playing national governments off against each other in search for low wages, social costs and state protection. A federal Europe would be powerful enough to demand high standards of behaviour from such companies, because only a powerful and economically significant player can dictate restricting conditions. This would ensure fair wages, safe working conditions and - additionally - Europe would be able to force the multinational companies to implement correct and holistic policies regarding the environment and thus make a greater difference on environmental issues such as global warming.
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[ ] Con
- Blind decisions There is a possibility that once a federation, Europe will adopt certain policies that might be harmful for a minority of the member states. In consequence, any economic downturn in those states could manifest itself on a larger scale in the United States of Europe as economies of the member states rely (more than ever) on each other.
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[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Is the federalization of Europe going to benefit Europe politically?
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[ ] Pro
- Greater influence. Once unified, Europe will become an (even more) important negotiating and trading partner; among the biggest economies in the world. France, Germany, Poland - these countries can hardly ever negotiate something with giants such as the US or China. Only Europe as one country stands a (political) chance of putting its message across.
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[ ] Con
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See also
External links and resources
Books
- Fareed Zakaria,"The Post-American World"
- Fareed Zakaria, "The Future of Freedom"
- Mark Leonard, "Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century"
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