11 European Foreign Ministers Call for Greater Integration
Testing the theory that it often takes a crisis to bring Europeans together, 11 foreign ministers, led by Guido Westerwelle of Germany, have called for a big increase in economic, political, diplomatic and even military integration within the European Union.
Germany has argued consistently for a more federal Europe, a point of tension with its closest partner, France, which tends to be more protective of sovereignty and preoccupied with shorter-term measures to stabilize the euro.
Highlighting the difficulties confronting the European Union, the document notes, “In many parts of Europe, nationalism and populism are on the rise, while the feeling of solidarity and sense of belonging in Europe are dwindling.”
The foreign ministers of all of the European Union’s big members took part in the Future of Europe Group meeting, with the exception of Britain, which remains resolutely skeptical about further integration. Poland, which joined the European Union in 2004, played an active role, and the 11 participants included representatives of the six countries that started the process of European integration after World War II.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/world/europe/9-foreign-ministers-call-for-greater-european-union-integration.html?
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