European debt crisis: leaders ponder fiscal union

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Source: The Guardian

In a damp Brussels garden one evening last week, the dreamers who have long fantasised about a United States of Europe sipped champagne and discerned a silver lining in the EU's worst ever crisis.

"Federalism is back," observed Guy Verhofstadt, the liberals' leader in the European parliament. "We can talk about federalism again."

Prime minister of Belgium for nine years, Verhofstadt was unable to construct an enduring Belgian federation. By Friday the country will have gone 460 days without a proper government and may yet fall apart.

Undaunted, Verhofstadt has turned to bigger ambitions.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/15/european-debt-crisis-fiscal-union