Cosmopolitanism can set Europe alight

Three contrasting perspectives on challenges facing the European Union project:

For sociologist Ulrich Beck, a federal Europe or a union of nation states are outmoded either/or options. It's time now to give the project a cosmopolitan dimension, more open, and more democratic.

In the related url hyperlink Dutch writer Geert Mak says that in the early 21st century, many commentators compare Europe to a gentle, grassing eating dinosaur. In order to adapt to the new world being forged, it must come out of its sloth.

In the Spiegel Online International feature, Herfried Münkler argues 'Despite the myriad problems currently facing the European Union, democratisation is not the answer. Rather, the EU's elites need to improve - and power has to be taken away from the periphery'.

• Primary Source

De Groene Amsterdammer, 8.7.11: Europe the gentle giant must wake (via PressEurop) http://www.presseurop.eu/en/content/article/764351-europe-gentle-giant-must-wake

Spiegel Online International, 8.7.11: The Need for a Centralization of Power http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,773071,00.html

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