Centre for European CEPS Policy Brief Policy Studies No. 72/May 2005 Political Integration in Europe and America Towards a Madisonian Model for Europe Mark C. Christie Abstract While integration in Europe is, in several important aspects, already more advanced than it was in America during the decades prior to the American Civil War, there are important differences that make deeper political integration comprising all members of the European Union unlikely in the near term. A smaller group of EU members, however, is likely to continue towards deeper integration, although questions of constitutional legitimacy must be confronted and resolved. European integrationists may find the federalist principles of James Madison, regarded as the father of the American Constitution, valuable both for deeper integration and wider expansion. A Madisonian federal model for Europe could prove acceptable both to many euro-federalists and euro-sceptics and thus advance the cause of European integration. Ironically, a European federal union based on Madisonian principles would be much closer to the vision of many of America’s founders than the federal structure of present-day America. Thinking ahead for Europe Keywords: Federalism, European federation, European Constitution, European integration, EU expansion, James Madison Mark C. Christie is a Judge on the Virginia State Corporation Commission and a Visiting Professor in the Center for Public Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, where he teaches constitutional law and comparative government. The views expressed herein are his own. He may be reached by email at
[email protected]. Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed are attributable only to the author in a personal capacity and not to any institution with which he is associated.