Towards a European Federation?

The institutional architecture of the EU and its role in the world, as well as peoples’ alienation and dissatisfaction with the EU working system, are primary reasons why it makes sense to rethink the legal and political structure of the EU. How far did the European Convention contribute to the solution of these challenges? Even if there is a wide academic agreement that the EU could better be understood and analysed in the framework of federalism, there is still a lack of comprehensive study on the EU from a perspective of comparative federalism. This book demonstrates that a federal structure could be an appropriate institutional and constitutional response to the EU challenges. The EU develops as an advanced federal polity with a legal document in the form of an institutional-federal pact, combining dual and cooperative federalism. This polity is based on examples of successful federations such as Germany, United States and Switzerland without, however, achieving a traditional federation. This book is addressed to all those interested in comparative federalism and the EU. Its author brings insights from the legal basis of politics and covers a large English, French and German literature in the field.