Political Union Quotes

Until 1847 Switzerland remained a pure Confederation of States, that is to say, she took five and a half centuries to make the step which the United States achieved at once.

To make a union with Great Britain would be fusion with a corpse.

For some time, Scotland's greatest exports to England have included whisky and Scottish MPs. Or, in the case of Charles Kennedy, both. All these links, politically, economically, culturally, are part of my Union. Would Glasgow's brilliant Commonwealth Games or the Edinburgh Festival be any better for our being independent? I doubt it.

We are not a nation, but a union, a confederacy of equal and sovereign states.

No one can be in any doubt that Britain is becoming more like Europe, though few in an increasingly economically illiterate media seem to realise it.

No State, upon its own mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union;

Berlin has traditionally backed a rules-based eurozone in which every member state is responsible for its own finances, including bank bailouts, with political union limited to a fiscal overlord's possessing veto power over national budgets that violate the rules.

There are so many problems in the E.U. that several countries are warming up to the idea that after the single currency, a deeper integration could also be created.

I have been supporting the European Union, but we are still a work in progress. We have to become more of a United States of Europe. We should talk about electing a president of the E.U., rather than having one selected from the heads of government.

Western Europe has been redefining the nation state since 1945 when it formed the European Union following World War II.

I've never been one to say that Britain was joining a happy band of brothers.

I think that we must come together progressively, with the British, the Germans, the Spanish, the Italians and with the new members of the European Union, we must make an effort to forge closer links.

The union of so many states will be seen in the eyes of the world—a wonder.

The EU is an English-speaking power. The single market was a British idea…. If you refuse please don’t expect us to help you wreck or paralyze the EU.

I hold, that in contemplation of universal law, and of the Constitution, the Union of these States is perpetual.

If we were to have a presidential election in Europe it would be an event that would spark a huge interest in people from Lisbon to Helsinki, just like national elections. And it would create a completely different political setting in Europe.

In order to consolidate the euro we need to harmonise our economic, fiscal and social policies, hence we are going toward greater integration.

It is impossible to build Europe on only deregulation ...

We have seen, in the example of the United States how the dynamic elements within society understood the need for unity and fought their bitter civil war to maintain the political union that was threatened by the reactionary forces.

Individually, the independent states of Africa, some of them potentially rich, others poor, can do little for their people. Together, by mutual help, they can achieve much. But the economic development of the continent must be planned and pursued as a whole. A loose confederation designed only for economic co-operation would not provide the necessary unity of purpose. Only a strong political union can bring about full and effective development of our natural resources for the benefit of our people.

The EU Constitution sets a path towards the elimination of nation states and the emergence of a European state in the strictest sense of the word. I'm definitely opposed to it… The EU isn't a loving family of European nations where everyone altruistically cares for everyone else. Various interests clash on various issues, and all kinds of coalitions are struck to push through specific solutions

To be in the EU, it means to have same rules of... for economy, for social life, to be together in the majority of European countries.

The people of Ireland are ready to become a portion of the [British] Empire, provided that they be made so in reality, and not in name alone.

If the U.K. wants to leave the E.U., we need to stay in the single market.

There is no real peace in Europe, if the states are reconstituted on a basis of national sovereignty. (…) They must have larger markets. Their prosperity is impossible, unless the States of Europe form themselves in a European Federation.