Why Europe Should Become a Country

In a world where nuclear powers play power politics both the world and Europeans need a united republic.

I’m a self-declared radical centrist. By that, I mean I’m all for finding realistic and pragmatic solutions to the problems in our communities. I don’t care much if these ideas come from the left or right or someplace else entirely. 

So when I casually drop the fact that I fully support a European republic evolving out of the present-day European Union, it raises more than a few eyebrows - after all, that doesn’t sound either realistic or pragmatic. And I suspect to some of you neither desirable.  

This essay is my attempt to convince you that 450 million European citizens, and the world, will be better off with a new country on the map: the European Union.

Europe Rising From Its Ashes

Most heard the quip that if you aren’t a socialist before 30, you have no heart, and if you’re not a conservative after that point, you have no brain. I’m mentioning this here because a similar view permeates the idea of European statehood, as an idea you outgrow as you mature and understand how the world really works. 

I believe in no such non-sense. 

Wars were a regular occurrence between European powers for most of modern history, but as Victor Hugo noted: a war between Europeans is a civil war. After the worst of humanity was on full display during the two World Wars, the project of European integration was based above all on making war impossible between the nations of Europe. And at that, it has been successful, with a war between two EU members states today as likely as a war between California and New York. This is nothing short of an extraordinary historical development, especially as we are reminded destructive conflict is still possible today right on EU borders, at the very heart of the European continent.  

Since its founding moment under one imperfect but ever-evolving Union, Europe also delivered on its promise of prosperity, opportunity, and well-being. I want to avoid quoting dull development and democracy indexes, quality of life rankings, or examples of EU’s positive global influence through the Brussels effect. But the simplest test of Europe’s success today is that it passes the Veil of Ignorance thought experiment. If you could choose what place you’d be born in but control nothing else (social class, exact city, and so forth), most people in the world would either expressly pick Europe or be happy to be born here.

The False Dilemmas of a European Republic

Critics point out how a European 'super-state' would take power away from the people and give it to unelected elites, how it would erase our national identities. And anyway, they say, it is impractical to govern a country with so many different cultures, languages, and economic inequalities.

But let’s think together about a few of these ideas. 

Our identities are not single blocks tied to one source. Instead, a person can identify with different places and constructs at once. To say I feel European does not take away from my Romanian identity. To support a European republic isn’t changing how much I love my hometown or region. If Europe were a country, we would not erase our national identities and cultures, we would only add and enrich them.

Another common false dilemma is that European nations would not accept ceding even more of their national sovereignty to the EU, losing their independence and ability to defend their national interests. But to this we must raise two points. 

First, if Europe were a country, we would split decision-making between European, national, and local levels - similar to the United States today. The goal isn’t to replace national governments with a single EU entity. Essentially we want to transfer those areas where we are stronger together to the European level. Think of defense, cutting-edge research and development, and speaking with one voice on the world stage. 

Second, in a world where nuclear powers like China and Russia don’t play by international law but by power rules, what is sovereignty worth if you cannot credibly defend it? A sovereign Europe, united under a common European government and military as part of NATO, protects the independence of all EU citizens and member states. Just like identity, European sovereignty doesn’t leave member states weaker. On the contrary, it is the best guarantee of freedom in a world where power trumps principles.

Voices from the far-right claim the European Union is not democratic, that unelected elites take decisions over people’s heads from Brussels. First, it’s worth noting that even extremists can read polls and see how unpopular campaigning for the dissolution of the EU has become, so they now settled to call for a deep reform from within.

Let’s list the facts: Europeans directly elect the second-largest democratic parliament in the world (after India). Major decisions are taken by unanimity or qualified majority by the democratically elected heads of states and ministers of the Member States. Can the system be improved to give citizens more direct weight in European debates? Absolutely, and I share some ideas next. But let’s not mistake ways to further strengthen the democratic process for illusions of unchecked power, for that you can look in Moscow or Beijing. 

Finally, we have very little evidence to suggest a European government would be ineffective because of the diversity of its member states or the size of its population. While there’s no doubt European cultures are historically diverse, today, they are also aligned in terms of values, outlook on the world, and common future objectives. Cultural differences within most European states are more significant than those between any two states on average. The best way to realize how much you have in common with other Europeans is to live outside the EU for a time. For me, living and studying in the United States, likely the closest country in terms of values and worldview to us, feels like a foreign culture compared to anywhere I’ve lived and worked in Europe. 

The Future is Europe

I believe that, at a fundamental level, a well-lived life requires a person to respond to the challenges of their time and pick the courageous path ahead. From this vantage point, a collective act of courage necessary today is to fully embrace our common destiny as Europeans. 

Divided our voices are too small to matter. In a world where nuclear powers play power politics, we must speak with a single voice on the world stage. Furthermore, we must allow qualified majorities to be the default decision-making principle. The veto power over foreign policy decisions should be removed and replaced. When both a majority of the EU citizens and member states support a decision, it should be adopted. 

Europeans directly vote in elections for the EU Parliament, but many will be surprised to hear this parliament cannot propose laws. Without jumping into the quickly confusing details of EU law-making, suffice to say the parliament can only vote on laws proposed by the EU’s executive. These are still then approved by the representatives of the Member States, acting in a sort of Senate role, before becoming EU law. We must strengthen the power of the EU parliament, both by giving it the right of initiative to propose laws and by increasing the weight that direct voting holds in European decision-making. The EU parliament should become the most powerful of the EU institutions. 

The 27 EU member states collectively spent around €200 billion on defense in 2020, more than Russia or China, second only to the US. Yet we have a real concern that we could not defend our Eastern flank in case of a massive invasion. This is because we split our resources between 27 Air Forces, bomb-diffusing squads, intelligence agencies, and the list goes on. This is highly inefficient. A European Republic would take leadership over our collective defense through a European Army, that in close cooperation with the United States through NATO, can credibly protect 450 million European citizens.

Over the past years, there has been no shortage of cynics and pessimists predicting the European Union’s collapse. Yet through endless crises, the European project proved anti-fragile; it transformed, adapted, and improved. Now again, amidst a war for freedom and democracy at our borders, the Union had a quick and united response: through crippling financial sanctions, direct financing and delivery of defensive weaponry, and welcoming and supporting those fleeing the war. No doubt, still more can be done to help. 

The world needs a united Europe just as much as we do as Europeans. From the ashes of the world’s worst conflicts, rooted in our complex and intertwined history, we can now build a European Republic that can become a voice of reason in an increasingly divided world. I believe the past few days have been a sober reminder we must be ready to protect our freedom and democracy - together we stand a chance to shape our own destiny in a hostile world. 

We are bound to do it as one people.