I wrote the following in April of 2025 and sent it to some friends in Europe. But now seems a good time to just publish it here as a provocation. Illustration by Gemini/Nano Banana Pro.

European Federation Manifesto

Europe needs to be strong – for itself and for the world.

China has become a superpower and the United States is struggling with the accumulated debt of neoliberalism and global intervention. Russia is waging a war at Europe’s doorstep. Europe can no longer rely on the support of the United States. Europe has fallen behind in its capacity to defend itself. Europe is rapidly deindustrializing.

The existing European Union has frittered away its credibility by turning into a costly bureaucratic morass. The European Union has lost the support of the people. At present course and speed the European Union will disintegrate and disappear into irrelevance. The same will be true for European nation states which are too small on their own.

It is time to reboot the European project as a European Federation.

The European Federation will focus on a minimal but crucial set of policies: defense, secure borders, abundant energy, frictionless commerce and dispute resolution between constituent nation states. Participating countries will maintain sovereignty in all other matters. As a first approximation the European Federation will be modeled on Switzerland. Like Switzerland, the European Federation will be neutral (i.e. not aligned with the United States or China). The European Federation will be committed to being non-offensive and non-interventionist. 

The European Federation will stand for humanist values. It will be tolerant but defend vigorously against intolerance. The European Federation will pursue a third path that provides an alternative to the Chinese government surveillance model and the emerging US might'makes-right model. The European Federation will leverage its existing strengths in research and manufacturing and attract scientists and entrepreneurs who want to drive forward progress in the freedom that arises from the balance of restrained and capable government with individual freedom.

The European Federation charter will be developed by a constitutional convention. Nations will send 2-5 delegates to the convention depending on size. The delegates shall be chosen by sortition among each nation's scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs. The delegates shall not include anyone who has been a professional politician for more than 3 years of their life. The delegates will be assisted at the convention by experts in constitutional law with a particular focus on federations.

I wrote the following in April of 2025 and sent it to some friends in Europe. But now seems a good time to just publish it here as a provocation. Illustration by Gemini/Nano Banana Pro.

European Federation Manifesto

Europe needs to be strong – for itself and for the world.

China has become a superpower and the United States is struggling with the accumulated debt of neoliberalism and global intervention. Russia is waging a war at Europe’s doorstep. Europe can no longer rely on the support of the United States. Europe has fallen behind in its capacity to defend itself. Europe is rapidly deindustrializing.

The existing European Union has frittered away its credibility by turning into a costly bureaucratic morass. The European Union has lost the support of the people. At present course and speed the European Union will disintegrate and disappear into irrelevance. The same will be true for European nation states which are too small on their own.

It is time to reboot the European project as a European Federation.

The European Federation will focus on a minimal but crucial set of policies: defense, secure borders, abundant energy, frictionless commerce and dispute resolution between constituent nation states. Participating countries will maintain sovereignty in all other matters. As a first approximation the European Federation will be modeled on Switzerland. Like Switzerland, the European Federation will be neutral (i.e. not aligned with the United States or China). The European Federation will be committed to being non-offensive and non-interventionist. 

The European Federation will stand for humanist values. It will be tolerant but defend vigorously against intolerance. The European Federation will pursue a third path that provides an alternative to the Chinese government surveillance model and the emerging US might'makes-right model. The European Federation will leverage its existing strengths in research and manufacturing and attract scientists and entrepreneurs who want to drive forward progress in the freedom that arises from the balance of restrained and capable government with individual freedom.

The European Federation charter will be developed by a constitutional convention. Nations will send 2-5 delegates to the convention depending on size. The delegates shall be chosen by sortition among each nation's scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs. The delegates shall not include anyone who has been a professional politician for more than 3 years of their life. The delegates will be assisted at the convention by experts in constitutional law with a particular focus on federations.