Over the past sixty years Europe has been striving to become a more integrated economic region which it
is believed will benefit them economically including competing & trading with others. Explain why you
think there is not yet a “United States of Europe” by comparing it to the US.
Although the European Union is sharing a currency, Europe is not yet as fluid as the United States and
may actually not be as easy to be the United States of Europe. The United States works well as one
nation with one currency because it has been established as a singular entity for centuries. States
specialize in production of certain goods and trade with others fairly easily and with minimal to no conflict.
The central government, the federal government, is made up from the 50 states. In Europe, the nations
that would make up the U.S.E. have been their own nations for decades and the disparity between
Germany and European microstates such as San Marino or Andorra is far greater than the range of
financial stability or influence the United States’ states have to offer. The term “buying domestic” in the
United States of America means to buy within their boundries, or from other states. In Europe, the same
would not be true. It would mean to buy from another nation.
One currency across all countries in Europe has benefits and downfalls. A benefit is the facilitation of
trade. Nations, or states, are more likely to exchange with one another, increasing global trade. However,
a major side effect might be that smaller nations may grow reliant on the success of larger powerhouses
such as the United Kingdom or Germany. Categorizing the smaller nations and shadowing them under
larger nations may diminish the incentive they have as individuals nations to succeed. There would also
have to be a common authority that sets laws across all nations in the United States of Europe which
does not seem realistic now or for the near future
