New book, ‘For Europe!’, makes the case for a federal Europe; written by Green and Liberal party
members.
For Europe! is a new book, written by two staunch pro-Europeans Daniel Cohn-Bendit of the Group of Greens-European Free Alliance and Guy Verhofstadt, leader of Liberals in the European Parliament. Released in six languages, the book aims to be a manifesto, spelling out the benefits of a united Europe.
Actually this is a book which has been written in anger, in fury against the national elites who, according to Daniel and I, are incapable of dealing with the crisis we are in today. We very clearly state that the only way, the only realistic solution, is to create a federal union, a federal Europe, said Verhofstadt, who is also a former Belgian Prime Minister.
Both men attempt to make the case that a unified Europe has a better chance in the face of global competition. However, closer political integration would be vital, according to Cohn-Bendit, who spoke to euronews at the book launch in Brussels.
We do think that the European model has to be parliamenterized! We suggest that the Commission has to become the real government of Europe. And we think that there should be two chambers, the Parliament and a Senate. The Senate could, for instance, be formed for by the governments of the member-states or by representatives of the national parliaments. This would be a democratic model, he said.
http://www.euronews.com/2012/10/01/for-europe-book-makes-the-case-for-a-federal-europe/
This won't go over well with the Eurosceptics on the right and far-right. They all want a weaker or non-existent EU to return the continent to a collection of competing nation-states that existed in the first half of the 20th century.