Future Direction of the EU?

johnnyq

Hi Folks, all the talk about the Lisbon Treaty has me thinking about where do we see the EU going? Is it still about economics and trade or was it ever so?

In twenty years, will the EU become something akin to the US- suprastate and national government?

I read somewhere that after Lisbon we will be real EU citizens for the first time, we apparently are only nominal citizens at present.

I want to keep this topic separate to the talk about the treaty, but rather ask where do you see (and want) the EU going. One federal state or nations working side by side?

Two interesting links for reading:
One is from Time Magazine: EU reform: Hidden Agenda, which argues that the EU was never about economics and always about amassing Political power (by a sort of tied aid I would assume).

The other is fromCBBC newsround which attempts to explain to children what the aims of the EU are.

spank_inferno

I dont think there is much appetite across all member states for a federal nation. So despite what some doom sayers think, its not a likely outcome.

I personaly favour the direction it takes.
It remains as far as I know the best peace process ever conceived.
There are issues of course regarding a perceived democtatic deficite. As well as transparency in bugetry matters & being good value for money.

I personaly support the EU taking a more active role in the future regarding international issues, eg: Security matters / foreign aid.
I hope Ireland will be in the forefront of such matters too.

Breezer

I don't think a 'superstate' would work, people don't want it. Understandably, people are concerned that this will be brought in insidiously, treaty by treaty. However, I see Lisbon as allowing the current system of cooperation between nations to work more easily, and don't think we have anything to fear from it.

partholon

united states of europe. whether the people want it or not.

it'll be death by a thousand treaties

EamonnKeane

Breezer wrote: »

I don't think a 'superstate' would work, people don't want it. (It doesn't matter what we want) Understandably, people are concerned that this will be brought in insidiously, treaty by treaty. However, I see Lisbon as allowing the current system of cooperation between nations to work more easily (i.e. more extensively?) , and don't think we have anything to fear from it.

:pac:

extragon

For most practical purposes of life the EU already is a multicultural federal "State."
Of course, this is not generally recognized - hence the democratic deficit, and the multiple annoyances caused by bureaucratic inertia and special interests touted as "national sovereignty." Compare, for example, the unfettered ease with which one telecom company can buy another, within the EU, with the experience of the individual mobile phone user. Or take the EU arrest warrant which allows anyone to be wafted from Ireland to places like Bulgaria, and which was agreed in record time by justice ministers. Yet the complementary "EU supervision order," allowing for bail in the defendants home country, remains stalled ( because of "national sovereignty. ")
Or why can't different countries use the same forms and procedures for income tax, as they do for VAT ( while keeping different rates) ?

I would hope that anti EU types will eventually accept that the EU is not going away, and instead of trying to break it up will try to reform it by pushing for citizen rights.