Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

EU should be named United States of Europe

  • VALÉRY GISCARD d'ESTAING - President of the Convention on the Future of Europe said the name has a symbolic power that gives the individual citizen the possibility of identifying themselves with the European project’s uniqueness and ambitions (Photo: EU Commission)

The European Union is maybe in the future to be named the United States of Europe, suggested the president of the Convention on the Future of Europe, Valery Giscard d’Estaing on Wednesday, in a speech in the Belgium city of Brugge.

The Convention is at the moment working on a new European treaty that might lead to a European constitution, but now the former French president also wants to discuss the name of the Union.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"This linguistic question is not irrelevant, since the name has a symbolic power that gives the individual citizen the possibility of identifying themselves with the European project's uniqueness and ambitions", said Mr Giscard d'Estaing in the College of Brugge.

The speech by Mr Giscard d'Estaing, which is bound to spark controversy, came on the eve of the Convention's planned meeting session to take place in Brussels over the next two days.

Spectre of fresh EU treaty returns to haunt ‘incomplete’ Europe

So exhausted were they by the struggle by the time the soap opera ended, European leaders then swore it would be very long indeed, perhaps a generation, before the EU treaties would be opened again. But now, in the last few days, as Europe’s economy and the single currency stand on the precipice, these same leaders have begun to eat their words.

Finnish PM: Russia preparing for 'long conflict with West'

Finland, which shares a border with Russia, has cautioned about the danger of a Russian attack in coming years. Russia is not "invincible" but "self-satisfaction is no longer an option," Finnish prime minister Petteri Orpo said.

EU Commission proposes opening Bosnia accession talks

Eight years on, the EU Commission is to recommend on Tuesday that member states open accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina after the country took "impressive steps" to meet the bloc's standards, Ursula von der Leyen said.

Opinion

How the EU can raise its game in the Middle East

Could the EU repair its reputation and credibility by taking action on Gaza? EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, Spain, Belgium and Ireland, have worked hard to repair the damage, but have faced political headwinds due to internal divisions.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us