# Will the EU eventually become a sovereign state? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 26, 2016, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-eu-eventually-become-a-sovereign-state/758401 "2016-06-26T14:18:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-eu-eventually-become-a-sovereign-state/758401/21 "2016-06-27T17:17:45Z")
> [@TheSeaOtter](#): > > This doesn’t seem that different from asking ‘Why would Massachusetts or Virginia want to follow federal laws?’. And yet, both of them signed on to the Constitution, and on the whole it’s worked out pretty well. 🆒 That’s the point of this thread. The US is a sovereign state with Federal laws. The EU is not a a sovereign state (yet). But it sure seems to have aspirations to be one someday. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-eu-eventually-become-a-sovereign-state/758401/22 "2016-06-27T19:25:44Z")
The ECC and Common Market were, to my (USA, old) senses, the level of integration and pooling appropriate to Europe as it is now. A common bank makes sense - but not as a mini-IMF, or even as powerful as the US Federal Reserve - there is too much economic variances to set common Fiscal policy. The Germany v Greece thing. I am amazed that the German population has put up with having its government subsidize Greece as much as it has. What price are you willing to pay to keep up this facade of “Single Europe”? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2016, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-eu-eventually-become-a-sovereign-state/758401/23 "2016-06-27T20:40:54Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > People in the EU refer to themselves as Europeans. They have their own Parliament. They have their own currency. They don’t recognize borders within member nations. (The Schengen Agreement) > > Now they want their own army. > [https://www.rt.com/news/348429-europe-united-army-brexit/](https://www.rt.com/news/348429-europe-united-army-brexit/) > > Is the EU well on its way to becoming a sovereign nation? Is it already a sovereign nation? No, the EU won’t become a sovereign state. No, it’s definitely not already one…it can’t, for instance, invoke tax policy across the various countries, something that’s pretty basic for a sovereign nation to be able to do. The sovereign states that make up the EU aren’t going to devolve even more of their sovereign powers (such as tax policy) to the EU, either, at least that’s not my impression…several of the states are already balking at some of the things they have given up or are being required to do (that’s one of the biggest reasons for this Brexit mess). At this point it’s not even clear to me that the EU will survive Brexit and the possibility of other nations doing the same thing and following in the Brits footsteps, but certainly, regardless of how this pans out I don’t see the EU ever becoming, say, like the US federal government and the various sovereign nations becoming like the US states and giving up their sovereignty…which is the road the EU would have to go down to really become sovereign. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-eu-eventually-become-a-sovereign-state/758401/24 "2016-06-28T02:22:42Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ve been reading about the EU since the Brexit vote. I’m looking at as an outsider too. Trying to make sense of it. > > The EU has powers that just doesn’t make sense. The laws passed by the European Court of Justice for example really ticked off a lot of the Leave voters. Why would member nations want to follow EU laws? Each member nation already has their own laws. Immigration was another hot topic for Leave voters. The Euro has its critics. The EU is dabbling into all sorts of areas normally reserved for sovereign states. It’s so strange and I’m surprised the member nations ever allowed the EU to grow into these areas. > > Thankfully I don’t live in Europe or the UK. If people want to live under the EU then thats their choice. I’m thankful the US isn’t part of it. > [@aceplace57](#): > > 🆒 That’s the point of this thread. The US is a sovereign state with Federal laws. > > The EU is not a a sovereign state (yet). But it sure seems to have aspirations to be one someday. There’s a bit of a contradiction between your two posts, aceplace57. On a nitpick, the European Court of Justice doesn’t pass laws; it’s a judicial body, not a legislative one. But, yes, the EU does make laws, albeit that the ECJ is not involved in making them. And those laws are binding on and within the member states. But, given that, doesn’t your claim that “the EU is not a a sovereign state (yet)” need qualification? If the EU can make laws that are binding on and within member states, isn’t that one of the principal characteristics of sovereignty? Sure, it’s not a federal state like the US. But lots of sovereign states are not federal states, and are not like the US. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-eu-eventually-become-a-sovereign-state/758401.md?page=1)