What is European Federalism? Andrew Duff was asked to provide a one sentence definition of European Federalism and in his answer he provided insight into the European Union’s current institutional structure. He also provided insight into how the EU’s federal structure.
The transcript for the interview is typed below. For more on European federalism and insights into the workings of the European Union, stay tuned in this playlist which feature more questions answered by Andrew Duff, the European Union’s constitutional specialist.
Erika Grey
Can you provide a one sentence definition of European Federalism?
Andrew Duff
Well I think it is about coordinate govern government at different levels addressing the issues of a different scales of complexity, but coordinate with each other so that the center is not supreme. It’s not going to impose itself upon the provincial state levels. I think that is misunderstood. And I thinks it’s misunderstood even in Brussels at present because at present we’re in a semi federal pre federal construct. The Commission is obliged to try to coordinate national policy to centralize the coordination of national policies. But I do not think that is federal. that’s not a truly federal solution, in order for there to be one, one has to have something that approximates to a federal government. It is that we haven’t got. Historically I think we are in a limbo trapped in a limbo between a con federal system of governance which we may know isn’t working very well. On the one hand and a federal union between prefigured we sort of kind of seen it through the cloud but we haven’t got the courage to progress towards it.
More from the Interview with EU Constitutional Specialist Andrew Duff
Alarming EU Conspiracy Theory – The Truth
Europe-The Future To Come-Federal Union Explained