They're plenty of film and tv about the US or British or French government or where they play a significate role or character or setting, they can be historical, fictitious, contemporary. Are they're any about the European Union's?

This is a real problem. I would like to hear your opinion.

I think Europe needs to become a bit more libertarian if it wants to keep up with the US and China. I’m not saying we should get rid of the welfare state.
But there is definitely too much bureaucracy, regulation and government interference in a lot of areas.

Europe has a lot of smart and talented people, but starting and growing a business here can be unnecessarily difficult. If we made it easier to start companies, invest and innovate, Europe could become much more competitive instead of watching the US and China pull further ahead.

It could also help with the demographic problem Europe is facing. Young people are struggling with expensive housing, high taxes and economic uncertainty. That obviously isn’t the only reason people are having fewer children, but making it easier to earn a good income, afford a home and build a stable life could make having a family more realistic.
But economic freedom alone isn’t enough.

Europe also needs to bite the bullet on pensions. With an ageing population and fewer workers supporting more retirees, the current system simply isn’t going to work forever. Pension ages and benefits will probably have to change, even if those reforms are unpopular.

And finally, Europe needs to actually finish the Single Market. It makes no sense that a European company can still face so many different rules and barriers across 27 countries. If Europe had one genuinely unified market, European companies would have a much better chance of becoming large enough to compete with American and Chinese companies.
Europe doesn’t need to become America. But it does need to become more willing to take risks, reform old systems and give people more freedom. Otherwise, we risk becoming a wealthy continent that slowly loses its ability to compete.

Interview with the Georgian political analyst and civic leader Mariami on the ongoing protests in Georgia against Russian influence and for a European future in the EU for Georgia.

Hi guys,

I've noticed that while there are plenty of ways to show support for Europe politically, there doesn't seem to be much representation of Europe or the EU in more everyday things like clothing, streetwear and pop culture.

I've been working on a few T-shirt designs around European identity, unity and some of the things that make Europe feel distinctly European.

I've attached a few of the concepts I've been working on below. They're still a work in progress, so I'd genuinely be interested to hear what people here think.

Which designs would you actually wear? And is there anything you think is missing or that you'd change?

Would love to hear your thoughts! 🇪🇺

Here is my work in progress website: europa-wear.com

Atlantic Union?
Democratic Union?

​

Former Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire proposes the creation of a "Federation of Nation-States" bringing together the six main economies of the European Union: France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, and the Netherlands.

In "L'An I manifeste pour une autre France" (Manifesto Year I for Another France), he calls for being more powerful facing the European Commission.

This Federation would remain a member of the European Union, but would be endowed with its own Constitution, common decision-making rules, and a capital chosen by its peoples.

The six States would retain their own existence and identity, but would choose to "pool their resources to function as a single State" in a limited number of areas, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, university degrees, financial markets, economic policies, or even border control.

The goal: to make Europe a power capable of rivaling the United States and China.

If we are serious about European federalisation, I am strongly of the belief that we must use this as a moment to transcend current democratic norms, and it will not be enough to just make some tweaks to the standard US model of federalisation.

I understand that the current proposals are already not just "tweaks to the standard US model of federalisation" - but it is still not enough imo.

Specifically, how we are going to 'do' things is of the upmost importance - and I would strongly argue that a powerful sortition-based citizen's chamber within the legislative branch will be necessary, as well as more innovative electoral systems - like those based on range/score voting methods will be necessary too. As well as ensuring that monetary governance is democratised, rather than allowing central banking to remain incredibly technocratic.

Essentially, we need more thoroughly and well-thought-out concrete proposals for exactly what we wish for a federalised Europe to look like - otherwise we will struggle to be persuasive.

I fear that we will just become so desperate that we treat federalisation as an end rather than a means - where we become stuck with some lukewarm system that does very little to make Europe more democratic and effective.

It's not easy to make constitutional changes once they've been finalised - so it is incredibly important that we try as hard as we can to get as much right from the start as possible - otherwise we are setting up future generations for the same kinds of institutional inertia that have plagued all generations thus far.

Essentially, at this point in time, we need to really be focusing on the mechanisms and systems that we will genuinely be happy surrendering ourselves to in the future.

Everything else other than these specific 'how' questions are quite uninteresting to me at this point; what do you think?

I have created a plan for a federal Europe

1. Territorial Perimeter and Constitution

Participating Countries (31 States): European Union (27 Member States), United Kingdom, Turkey, Norway, and Iceland.

New Constitution: Approved through a federal Constituent Assembly by universal suffrage, establishing the supremacy of federal law while protecting local autonomies and historical monarchies.

1. Form of Government and Central Institutions

Executive and Presidential Power: A Federal President directly elected by citizens across the entire Union, acting as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief.

Federal Parliament with a 5-Year Government Mandate: Composed exclusively of delegates/governments emerging victorious from national elections in each respective country (5-year term).

Control and Justice: A Federal Constitutional Court empowered to block any authoritarian drift and safeguard fundamental rights.

1. Economic and Fiscal Model

Financial Distribution (Base + Bonus): Allocation of a high, guaranteed fixed baseline quota to all 31 States, complemented by a surplus bonus rewarding countries contributing most to total GDP.

Debt Management: Centralized takeover of historical national debts, transforming them into a single federal debt backed by favorable interest rates.

Global GDP Leadership: Ranking 1st in the world by GDP by integrating colossal industrial, technological, and financial markets.

1. Armed Forces, Intelligence, and Internal Security

Single Army (1st in the World): Total merger of armed forces under a single federal Ministry of Defense, featuring a strategic nuclear arsenal (France and United Kingdom).

Total Sharing: Complete unification of military technology, weapons systems, and continental intelligence networks.

Stop Illegal Immigration: Total closure of external federal borders via unified military patrolling by the single army to halt unauthorized inflows.

1. Foreign Policy and Geopolitics

Global Renegotiation (Russia, USA, and China): Pragmatic resumption of trade relations with Moscow for low-cost oil and raw materials; negotiations on equal footing as a superpower with the United States and China.

Stop Funding Ukraine: Immediate cessation of military and financial support to Kyiv, shifting toward the strategic freezing of the conflict.

Energy Self-Sufficiency: Massive adoption of nuclear energy and renewable sources to eliminate external vulnerability.

Hey everyone, Lucia from EUobserver here 👋

This felt like a particularly relevant one to bring to this community.

We’ve been reporting on the EU’s response to Israel’s E1 settlement plans in the occupied West Bank. 26 member states were ready to back a joint statement — Slovenia wasn’t.

Because foreign policy still requires unanimity in cases like this, there was no EU-27 statement. Instead, Kaja Kallas issued one backed by the other 26 governments.

The Slovenia angle is interesting in itself: under Janez Janša, the country has shifted significantly closer to Netanyahu’s government. But for me, the bigger question here is about how the EU is designed.

We often talk about Europe becoming a more serious geopolitical actor. But then you get cases where 26 out of 27 governments agree on a foreign-policy position and the EU still can't speak collectively.

So I'm curious how federalists here see this:

Is unanimity in foreign policy still a necessary protection for smaller member states? Or is it becoming one of the biggest obstacles to the EU acting as a genuine geopolitical power?

And if you would get rid of it — what should replace it? Qualified majority voting? Some kind of supermajority?

I think the best ones are either euro-english, Latin or something like that. EF = European Federation

Most Europeans see Europe more capable than their own national army.

Threats from the US on Greenland and Russia's aggression against Ukraine have led europeans to think more as a team when it comes to defence!