The Chairman of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) Mr. Martin Schulz on Dec. 7, 2017 tweeted, “I want a new constitutional treaty to establish the United States of Europe. A Europe that is no threat to its member states, but a beneficial addition.”
Mr. Martin Schulz has introduced a new vision, ‘United States of Europe’ by 2025, under a single constitutional treaty. It also worth mentioning here that the states, who disagree with the federal constitution, under Martin Schulz’s proposal, would automatically have to leave the EU.
“This constitutional treaty must then be presented in all member states and those that do not agree would automatically leave the EU,” he added.
Germany’s Social Democrats, who recently secured 20.5 percent during the election, voted to start talks that could lead to a new government coalition. The SPD had twice previously joined the coalition government under Merkel.
In fact, Germany itself now finds itself in the middle of its own crisis, having failed to form a coalition government following the September Bundestag election. Frustration with Angela Merkel’s incoherent migration policy has eroded her party’s popularity. At the same, time support for the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) surged, enabling it to enter parliament for the first time.
While stating bold ambitions, Schulz failed to outline how exactly he plans to garner support for his somewhat utopian idea, at a time when the EU is facing a number of crises, ranging from austerity measures and ongoing terrorist threats to Brexit and secessionist movements in Scotland and Catalonia.
Schulz now wants to resurrect the decades-old idea of a federal Europe. He imagines that by 2025, the EU can be consolidated to tackle common challenges faced by the bloc, including, domestic and foreign security, asylum and monetary affairs.
“I want a European constitutional treaty that creates a federal Europe,” Schulz said at the SPD party congress in Berlin. He explained that only a determined EU can effectively combat climate change, tackle the challenge of migration, battle tax evasion, and pressure internet giants to respect rights of EU citizens, as well as curbing right-wing extremism in Europe.
“Europe is our life insurance,” said Schulz. “It is the only chance we have to keep up with the other great regions of the world.”
Probably, out of many reasons what has motivated Mr. Shulz to bring forward this idea are:
- Underlying of the European Values
- Immigration Crisis
- Islam-phobia and Xenophobic movements with in EU bloc
- Rise of Populism movements
- Defense spending debate for a fare-share & equal defense spending ofmember states.
The idea has undoubtedly brought In much criticism as well. Mr. Alexander Dobrindt; a top lawmaker for the Christian Social Union; responded stating: “Someone who wants to create the United States of Europe by 2025, who wants to dissolve nation states in the next seven years, and who wants to throw anyone who doesn’t submit to this dictate out of the EU, must be called a Europe radical,” Dobrindt said.
Its clear that within Europe, a sense of urgency of ‘unity’ is widely advocated with in intellectual and ruling circles and the Europe needs to stand together no matter under the current banner of ‘European Union’ project or in proposed ‘Federal Europe’ plan of Martin Shulz.
Author
Yasir Aziz
Correspondent- Overseas Tribune
Warsaw, Poland
