this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2026
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Europe

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[–] tirateimas@lemmy.pt 31 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

European Union is a much better name. So lets continue with the integration.

A few things to start:

  • Commission should be directly elected by the people
  • Parliament should take more responsibility and agency
  • Parliament limitations should be lifted
  • The council should gradually abdicate to the parliament
  • Rigid rules for term limits for all elected EU officials for all institutions.

There are more and the road is long, but it is the right direction.

[–] deHaga@feddit.uk 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

There are more and the road is long, but it is the right direction.

Doubt. Every attempt in history to centralise power in Europe has failed

[–] Skua@kbin.earth 3 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Which attempts have been similar to the EU, and not just conquests? The closest I can think of is maybe the Habsburg dynasty, and I think we can agree that that had its own unique issues going on

[–] deHaga@feddit.uk 1 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Napoleon is the closest. A lot of the legal, judicial, and administrative civil code remains today.

[–] Skua@kbin.earth 8 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

In what fucking world was Napoleon's attempt not a series of conquests?

[–] deHaga@feddit.uk 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

European history all is just conquests

[–] Skua@kbin.earth 1 points 30 minutes ago (1 children)

...so there has not been an attempt like the EU

[–] deHaga@feddit.uk 1 points 23 minutes ago (1 children)

There has. The European Communities and the EEC. Neither were attempts to create a federation like US, China or Russia...

[–] Skua@kbin.earth 1 points 20 minutes ago (1 children)

Mate the EEC was one of the European Communities, and it ended because it became part of the EU. That's not a separate attempt. That's the same one.

[–] deHaga@feddit.uk 2 points 15 minutes ago (1 children)

Lol no. The treaties of Maastricht, Nice and Lisbon turned a trade bloc into a political one.

That's centralising power, and it always fails.

[–] Skua@kbin.earth 1 points 12 minutes ago

"Lol no. Actually it was exactly what you said"

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 10 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Jesus, it's just way to say it needs to be a federation with more centralized government. No one is saying we should copy any specific ideas from US.

EU is falling behind because it's unable to effectively work together for a common goal. Every country is constantly trying to protect its interests. We can't stop Russians from entering EU because Italy and Spain is blocking it. We can't ban gasoline cars because Germany is blocking it. More centralized government could solve those issues and let Europe compete with US and China.

[–] blackbeans@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (1 children)

I agree that it's needed in this day and age, when we are faced with dictators.

However more centralized powers have historically led to war within Europe. Think about World war I and II, the Balkan wars, the Prussian wars, Napoleonic wars, the Seven years war, war of the Spanish succession and so on. This is the reason the EU is set up the way it is, all countries can influence decisions and there's no dominant power overruling others. So it's a bit of a double edged sword. Centralization helps to suppress cultural differences but doesn't solve them.

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 1 points 1 hour ago

Totally. I think huge progress was made in the last couple of decades but nationalism is still very strong in many countries and most people are still definitely not ready to put the good of Europe ahead of their national interests. Federation is needed but Europe is still not ready for it. Maybe in couple more decades but we'll be lucky if EU survives for that long.

[–] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 34 points 4 hours ago (3 children)

Shouldn't it be about time to form the united earth government and start reaching for the stars?

[–] snoons@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Earth

What's your favourite?

I'm partial to the first one, just maybe mute the colours a bit:

[–] manxu@piefed.social 11 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Yes, you are right. The EU has proven so far to be a good start, as it's been a decent compromise between the great powers and the smaller countries. Getting that balance right is really hard, as the clusterfuck that is the UN proves.

[–] hendrik@palaver.p3x.de 4 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago)

Sure. And I mean country size wouldn't even be an issue since we're getting rid of the concept of countries. It'd be one earth. At the size of the earth. (And maybe a few separatist regions. πŸ˜…)

[–] Seimhe@lemmy.world 17 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

The USA is a model of excess, inequality and brutality. What kind of a lunatic uses that language or even role model? This is absolute fangirl language and doesn’t belong in civilised society.

[–] Skua@kbin.earth 11 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

For what it's worth, there have been many United States that aren't the US of America. Mexico's full name is United Mexican States, and historically there have been USes of Brazil, Belgium, Colombia, Indonesia, Central America, and a few more

That said, I'm a native English speaker and the article is in Spanish. I don't know if the original Spanish has an implication of "be like the USA" or if it's just a way to say "Federalised EU"

[–] Seimhe@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

Fair points. In the Anglosphere, there are groups called Volta using this exact same phrase. The even use imagery of racist genociders like Winston Churchill in their promotional material. They call themselves progressive. I wish I was joking.

[–] FiskFisk33@startrek.website 6 points 4 hours ago

no it's fucking not

[–] poVoq@slrpnk.net 9 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (1 children)

No thanks.

We don't want to build the setup for fascists to take over like in the US.

[–] TheMightyCat@ani.social 10 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (2 children)

Why would a more integrated EU allow fascists to take over?

The fascists are anti EU and currently seem to be rapidly gaining power in national governments.

[–] CaptObvious@literature.cafe 8 points 4 hours ago

US fascists are also anti-US from one point of view. Their plan seems to be tearing it down from the inside. The same playbook would work in the EU.

I don’t know how to protect against fascism. But a United Europe would be a welcome addition to the world, I think.

[–] kaki@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

1 central governement to take over instead of 27.

[–] TheMightyCat@ani.social 4 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

While true, i think it would be harder for something like the AfD to take over the EU central government then the german national government.

[–] ProdigalFrog@slrpnk.net 4 points 3 hours ago

A few decades ago people used to think it would be hard for the fascists to take over the US, that they were a minority that wouldn't gain popularity or a foothold in the different branches of government.

Obviously, we were wrong. And the rise of the far-right in EU countries shows the same can still happen there.

Having close ties with each other is good, helping each other is awesome, but centralizing power will only make it easier for it to be corrupted by fascism as climate change restricts global resources and the fascists are ready with their tired old scapegoats.

[–] kaki@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

Maybe for AfD, but fascists will always find a way. The RN in France always comes first in the EU parliament elections despite them being nationalistic anti-EU nazis spin-offs. If there's a place of power they'll try to get there. A "United States of Europe" would be a whole lot of uncessary risk.

Ventotene has just launched a new call to build the United States of Europe

Ventotene is once again at the heart of the debate on Europe’s future. On the Italian island that is a symbol of European federalism, the declaration β€œIt is time to build the United States of Europe” was adopted and signed on 30 August 2026, promoted by the Third Jean Monnet Action Committee for the United States of Europe.