Quote:
Originally Posted by Adrian009 View Post
But the US states are just that, whereas most states in Europe are NATION-states. Nice idea, but use with caution.
Nation-states are a very corrupt ideal. Take two in Europe: the UK (Cornish, Welsh, Scottish, Manx, English) and Spain (Castilian, Catalunyan, Galician, Basque). These groupings within states are all very different nations, not all of whom are given regional autonomy. I acknowledge the point you're making, and I'll respond with a favourite quotation of mine:

"A nation is a society united by delusions about its ancestry and by common hatred of its neighbors." - William Ralph Inge

France has Bretons and Basques, it's almost too late at night to get started on Belgium, the list goes on. Let's reduce Europe to states. If the aforementioned regions want autonomy let them operate (and be represented) independently within a Federal EU. If they've a different way of doing things re:taxation or social policies they should be given the freedom to do so, but they shouldn't be given freedom only to be allowed to degrade into ultra-nationalist backwaters, we do need to be very careful about that.