Eurozone Countries Should Form United States of Europe, Says EC Vice-President

Viviane Reding: 'Like Winston Churchill, I believe that the UK
not be part of this, but it should remain a close ally with the
federated eurozone.'

THE GUARDIAN: Viviane Reding calls for full fiscal and political union for 18 eurozone countries but says UK should remain apart

A "United States of Europe" should be formed by the 18 eurozone countries to stabilise the European single currency, a vice-president of the European commission says in a speech on Monday evening.

Speaking at the Cambridge University faculty of law, Viviane Reding borrows Winston Churchill's historic 1946 phrase as she called for a full fiscal and political union on much of the continent.

Delivering the Mackenzie Stuart lecture, Reding says: "There is a strong case for a true fiscal and ultimately political union. In my personal view, the eurozone should become the United States of Europe."

However, Reding endorses Churchill's view, outlined in his Zurich speech in 1946, that Britain should remain apart from the United States of Europe. » | Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent | Monday, February 17, 2014

Federal Europe Will Be 'a Reality in a Few Years', Says Jose Manuel Barroso

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A fully fledged federal Europe may seem like "political science fiction" today but will soon become reality for all European Union countries whether inside or outside the euro, Jose Manuel Barroso has said.

The president of the European Commission has fanned the flames of British debate over EU membership by insisting that fiscal union in the eurozone will lead to "intensified political union" for all 27 member states.

"This is about the economic and monetary union but for the EU as a whole," he said.

"The commission will, therefore, set out its views and explicit ideas for treaty change in order for them to be debated before the European elections."

"We want to put all the elements on the table, in a clear and consistent way, even if some of them may sound like political science fiction today. They will be reality in a few years' time."

Mr Barroso's announcement that he will set out plans for a European federation next spring, before elections to the European Parliament in May 2014, will further deepen Conservative divisions over the EU. Read on and comment » | Bruno Waterfield, Brussels | Tuesday, May 07, 2013