The United States of Europe

by Guy Verhofstadt, Stefan Collignon (Introduction)

France and the Netherlands have said "no" to the European Constitutional Treaty. In addition to domestic political motives, contradictory fears were in play. Some thought the Treaty brought with it "too much Europe." Some thought it did not bring enough Europe. Others, particularly in the Netherlands, were protesting against the supposed cost of Europe. Yet others thought that the European Union's enlargement has gone ahead much too quickly.What is the next step? The Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt does not mince his words. He wishes to create a "United States of Europe," with all member states of the European Union participating if possible, with a group of "pioneers" if necessary. His book is required reading for anyone who cares about Europe.

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics

76 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Belgian Liberal Politician and European Federalist.

He served as Prime Minister from 1999-2008 after defeating the Social-Democrats and Christian Democrats in the aftermath of the Agusta scandal and Dioxin Affair. He was the first liberal Prime Minister in Belgium since 1884.

In 2009 he was elected as Member of the European Parliament and became the leader of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats.

Reviews

[Fábio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Obviamente li este livro muito depois de ter sido publicado, num contexto politico bastante diferente.
O livro em si é uma visão genérica dos passos para a construção de uma federação europeia, mas uma excelente leitura, pois sendo um manifesto, é naturalmente otimista e curto. Um livro facilmente devorável numa tarde.
Além do interesse que o livro terá para quem queira uma via de aceleração sobre o tópico, é também um documento fascinante sobre o período que antecedeu o fracasso do Tratado Constitucional e o Tratado de Lisboa.
Ora, o otimismo do movimento federalista do inicio do século esbarrou no realismo político, mas é interessante comprar os passos sugeridos, com os que foram dados, e com os que nunca saíram do livro.

[zmija lanca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Solid for a mandatory read but I wouldn't have missed out had I not read it. Also it was very funny reading Verhofstadt's insanely optimistic pro-eu manifesto while also studying for a module that consists only of looking at all 738282 crisis europe has been continuously going through since the day it was founded.

[Clara Falkenek · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good and well-structured manifesto for an improved European Union. The chapter regarding financing of the union is a bit outdated seeing as the book was written before the financial crisis and the sovereign debt crisis. However, the rest of the book is just as relevant, if not more, today. I recommend every European citizen to read the book to get a sense of what Europe could and should be!

[Aleksiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

We need more visionaries like you, Verhofstadt! Short and on-point, very well presented. I am a firm believer in the idea.

[Smarti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ein passioniertes Plädoyer für ein Vereinigtes Europa! Kann damit voll und ganz sympatisieren.

[Erika Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is an easy read, and it is not that many pages. It outlines Verhofstadt's views, but I expected the book to be a bit longer in length and to cover a bit more on the topic.