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This millennium is near its end and there seems to be a sweeping trend among European politicians that if an integrated Europe ever will turn into reality the process has to speed up before the turn of the century. The standing question is why they will not slow down the whole integration process as Europe today is like a playing board with far too many political players that contribute to the increasing turbulence and uncertainty among the people of Europe concerning the future .
Looking back in history Europe has faced many attempts when political scientists have tried to work out plans for Europe to become one sovereign state. The facts are of course indisputable whether these attempts succeeded or not, as the answer undoubtedly is no. Due to this fact many people ask themselves why politicians keep on struggling for a united Europe as all former attempts have failed .
Dealing with this question one can start by arguing that most pacts and other co-operations, both political and military ones, are often formed when external threats are tangible. This was however not the case when the first cornerstone of today's European Union, the French and German coalition known as the European Coal and Steel Community, was formed. What we have here is instead a co-operation formed in preventing internal threats i e it was meant to be the impelling force to secure peace in Europe .
However, there is no point in denying that there were also other intentions with the project as to establish economic and political development and the arguments that this huge "European project" has survived because of internal or external threats may not be of importance in this discussion at least when it comes to war-terms. We may continue to speak of internal and external threats but this time as pointed out above in economical terms .
With a growing global economy politicians in Europe started to argue that economic integration had to speed up in order to be compatible to other markets and therefore work for a strong economic and monetary union. In this process we have to remember that economic integration come into reality because of many factors among others globalisation itself with growing multinational enterprises, but of course political forces in economical steering are also of great importance. Therefore the political integration has to be studied in parallel to economic integration as economic change and threats lead to political decisions the same way as political decisions are of vital importance to economic development .
With these standing points behind us the further political integration of Europe took place in the 1960's with the foundation of the European Community. This was due to the fact at this time the United States was a strong power both politically and economically in the western world. European politicians realised that the European states had to be counted upon in world affairs and thereof this further integration. As the economic and political power of European states increased immensely throughout the following decades, it would have seem reasonable to slow down the whole integration process. This is however not the case and maybe that is why people all over Europe today question these strong political forces of further integration. Is it simply the fact that it is some sort of stubbornness and such a strong desire to complete something that has never before come into reality; a strong sovereign European state?
Speaking of political and economic integration we are forgetting another integration process that is taking place, however not in the same velocity as the two former integration processes and this is also the one of the three integration processes that is the most difficult one to control. The one I am speaking of is nonetheless the phenomenon of social integration .
True is that people and different cultures all over the world are becoming more and more socially integrated. Still, this is a factor that politicians cannot take control of in the same order as with political and economical forces. People have their own will and simply will not follow all the political guidelines towards an integrated Europe over night due to traditional standing-points (for example when it comes to the sovereignty of the nation-state) and are very often suspicious of change. Integrating people takes time as people follow their own pace and if European politicians ever want to see a "United States of Europe" there is only one final thing to say in this argumentation: Let people become socially integrated following their own pace as you cannot take political decisions in this integration process and sooner or later we might see an integrated Europe even within economic and political areas. Pushing political and economical integration to its unreasonable extent will just make the whole "European project" more fragile than it already is .
