The
leaders of the lower chambers of parliament of Germany, Italy,
France, and Luxembourg have called for a European “Federal Union”
in an open letter published in Italian newspaper La Stampa on Sunday.
In
the letter, four representatives of EU governments – Claude
Bartolone of the French National Assembly, Laura Boldrini of the
Italian Chamber of Deputies, Norbert Lammert of the German Bundestag,
and Mars Di Bartolomeo of the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies – say
that closer cooperation is essential for dealing with problems that
no one EU state can tackle on its own, such as immigration,
terrorism, and climate change.
“Now
is the moment to move towards closer political integration — the
Federal Union of States with broad powers. We know that the prospect
stirs up strong resistance, but the inaction of some cannot be the
paralysis of all. Those who believe in European ideals, should be
able to give them a new life instead of helplessly observing its slow
sunset,” the letter read.
The
letter’s authors also warn that the European integration project is
currently more at risk than ever before, with high unemployment and
immigration problems driving populist and nationalist movements. The
EU must also come to grips with the fact that, last June, the United
Kingdom decided to leave the union after holding a national
referendum, aka Brexit, becoming the first member nation to opt out
of the bloc.
On
Sunday, a number of EU states, including Germany, France and Italy,
called for the UK to pay a hefty price as a “divorce settlement.”
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