A United States of Europe?

Presentation

This is an essential book for those who want to understand where this peculiar political form we call the European Union is going and, above all, attempt to predict its future course. It is not easy, but this work by Cesáreo Rodríguez Aguilera de Prat will serve as a route map and compass. Take it as read that the author is not exactly an “impartial observer”, an attribute that in other scientific fields is usually a virtue. No, Rodríguez Aguilera is a convinced Europeanist, a committed supporter of the EU, and also as “Euro-Optimist” as they come, an idea clearly expressed in the dedication to his son on the back cover of this book.

Two well-constructed perspectives define the structure of the book. Chapters 1 and 2 guide us pedagogically through the historical background of this historic continental aspiration for unity. I consider it of great importance that the author has entered (beyond the usual review of these antecedents from their origins until 1957) the complicated terrain of what we political scientists call “applicable theory”. Not surprisingly, some eminent colleagues (Leca, Klingemann) have called the EU an “unidentified flying quasi-constitutional object”. Irony apart, the truth is that after several decades of existence, disciplines such as Political Science, Constitutional Law, International Law, The Theory of Organisations, etc., remain partially necessary, but none of them allow us to adequately describe the EU in its entirety. One reason for such a paradox is that we should not forget that (when dealing with a matter of this type) reality precedes the theory adequately describing it as a posteriori (if we are lucky). Therefore, the sections “Federalising theories on community nature”, “Federal asymmetries and differential integration” or the disturbing proposition “A Federation without a Federal state?” are not only innovative, but highly pedagogical. Chapter 2 continues along the same lines. We know full well that states are both the engines of the EU and the main obstacle to a vault to greater federal integration. We are essentially aware of what has been called “democratic deficit” but are at a loss as to how to solve it, and in fact we do not even know if it is possible to do so without limiting the weight of states’ sovereignty. We ←15 | 16→know the problem of populisms of different types (with the persistent discontent they usually cause) with the paradox that one of their favourite battlegrounds is the European Parliament itself, where they are sent by national voters – let’s not fool ourselves. In counterbalance, the heterodox federalising role of the European Central Bank and the major questions that arise on issues such as the fiscal union, the banking union and an EU in which many states are in the euro (but others not) and so on are considered.

Chapters 3 and 4 develop another topic, with a focus on protagonists and political processes, in other words, on parties and elections. Here it is worth mentioning that, unlike the first two chapters, these will have to be updated in future editions of this book. The important issues examined in the first half of the book will persist and are unlikely to be resolved in the short term, but those in the second half will have to adapt to changes in political and electoral reality, from legislature to legislature and from election to election to the EP. Certainly one can think that the great ideological families express continuity to a greater or lesser extent (Popular, Democratic, Social Democratic and Green) but few national parliaments have a degree of volatility and fragmentation comparable to that of the EU. Simple group names are at once renewed or changed, perplexing not just the minority but the majority of observers. I think that this adaptability to new changes is undoubtedly one of the great challenges that the author faces; however, given his motivation and the solidity of his academic background, he overcomes this through his research work, as evidenced by the book’s Conclusions, which truly offers an invaluable addition to the research as a whole.

Pere Vilanova
Emeritus Professor of Political Science
at the University of Barcelona

Introduction

This book originated in a personal reflection on the future of the European Union that poses a specific dilemma: Why is the United States of Europe practically impossible today if in theory and abstract the concept is the most rational? The EU as a whole is the world’s primary trading power, the principal donor in development aid and the second largest exporter of manufactured goods. It has a high average per capita income, highly developed scientific and technological sectors, the broadest social inclusivity for its effective healthcare services, the largest international diplomatic corps and a defensive capacity that, if all European countries were grouped together, would make it the second biggest military power in the world. However, these attributes are almost irrelevant precisely because the EU is not a State. I propose to the reader that very time they see global statistics in any field by country in the media, they should take the trouble to add up all the indicators for all the EU countries. The EU would automatically become the first or second world power depending on the sectors (for example, in GDP, trade, R&D, education health, defence and others) if it operated as a single international entity. This said, and beyond political protagonists (who are the focus of this book), it must be acknowledged that the mass media and public opinion share a degree of responsibility in the fact that the perception of “pan-Europeanism” remains low. The former continue to (erroneously) report on Europe in the “international” or “foreign affairs” sections, when today it is unacceptable for European politics to be characterised in this way, because it is just as internal to Europe as national politics. With regard to citizens, and apart from the endless debate about whether or not it would be possible to create a European demos (something that is not the subject of this research), the general perception of considering when a European national moves (for work or leisure) to another European country, he or she has been “abroad”, is unhelpful. With this in mind, I close these initial reflections with a quote from a Canadian specialist that I take as my own: “European integration seems more necessary than ever. Member countries cannot ←17 | 18→manifestly address the immense current challenges on their own: security and defence, immigration, Islamist terrorism, Russian revanchism, environmental protection, digital revolution, new forms of crime and corruption, illegal actions by large multinationals, renewable energy resources, competition from large economic conglomerate players and others. For reasons of internal policy (dissensions) and foreign policy (the need to assert its place in the world), the EU must be stronger and must rethink its integration” (Bouchard, 2019: 133).