One Third of Germans Want ‘United States of Europe’

Approaching a third of German and French people want the European Union (EU) to become a single country, or ‘United States of Europe’, but only 10 per cent of Brits agree.

The plan to turn the bloc into a federal superstate by 2025 was put forward by Martin Schulz, the former president of the European Parliament and a contender for German chancellor, earlier this month.

He called for an EU constitution and for the bloc to rapidly expand its power and erode the sovereignty of nation-states, as well as demanding that any country standing in the way must be ejected.

In a survey conducted before Christmas and published Thursday, YouGov found that 30 per cent of German respondents favoured the idea, making Germany the country that was most supportive of the plan among the seven European nations surveyed.

French respondents were also comparatively supportive of the idea, with 28 per cent endorsing the proposal of a United States of Europe.

People from the UK were the least supportive with just 10 per cent of participants saying they agreed with the plans.

Finns and Norwegians were also fairly critical, being the only nations of which more than half (56 and 55 per cent, respectively) clearly opposed a United States of Europe.

In all the Nordic nations (Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway) there was between 12 per cent and 13 per cent of people in favour of the plan.

With the UK leaving the EU, it is likely that European integration will accelerate as the UK has traditionally opposed moves to erode national sovereignty.

The bloc is currently working at “full speed” to establish an EU army, with a common budget and headquarters, the EU’s foreign minister confirmed last month.

French President Emmanuel Macron has also called for new laws and institutions paving the way towards a European nation, including an EU budget, finance minister, and financial laws.