The chances of a superstate arriving any time soon are remote. First, there are immense practical difficulties in putting together a nation out of so many disparate traditions, culture, languages, histories and economies. Poland does not have much in common with Portugal, for example. Finally, European politicians show very little willingness to forego national advantage in favour of what most of them see as a utopian vision. As the wrangling over who should be the first president of the European Central Bank showed, national squabbling is likely to go on for some time to come.
Politicians love squabbling.
It's what they do best. The special relationship After rejecting the single currency in a referendum and following several more years of increasing isolation, Britain cuts its ties with the European Union and applies for membership of Nafta, the North American free trade agreement. Some supporters of ever closer links between the English speaking nations take the fantasy one stage further and envisage the UK as the 51st and most powerful state of the union. In some ways, this scenario is the mirror image of the European superstate. Again, there is a logic to it.