Norman Davies Quotes

Throughout the years following World War II and until the formation of the European Economic Community in 1958, I was very active as a national or international rapporteur at many of the international conferences aiming to establish an European community.

Let us not forget that the European Community started as a project for peace after the terrible Second World War. And today people take for granted the freedom to travel, to study, to work abroad. And the citizens of one country have almost exactly the same rights as another country.

The EU is not a country and it's not going to become a country, in my view, now or ever in the future. It is a group of countries working together.

Economic necessity will override patriotism and cause the nations of Western Europe to band together--if not under a single government, then certainly in a close politico-economic alliance

Western Europe has been redefining the nation state since 1945 when it formed the European Union following World War II.

Continent-wide nations require continent-wide leaders whenever they are in crisis. The 'idea of Europe,' much like the 'idea of India' was the construction of such continental leaders.

In the long run, Europe will certainly move toward unification. But it will be a process of push and pull, and there will be resistance.

The E.U. is the world's fastest growing democratic body.

The great European dream was to diminish militant nationalism. We would all be happy Europeans together. But we are going to see the old monster of militant nationalism being awoken when people realise how little control their politicians have.

Europe started out with six countries; three small countries and three large countries.

The European Union is the world's most successful invention for advancing peace.

We were thus led to organize ourselves, as men who had fought the war together, in order to support those statesmen who had truly understood the lessons of that World War, thus attempting to prevent its recurrence.

Limitless enlargement of Europe means the death of political Europe.

The EU Constitution sets a path towards the elimination of nation states and the emergence of a European state in the strictest sense of the word. I'm definitely opposed to it… The EU isn't a loving family of European nations where everyone altruistically cares for everyone else. Various interests clash on various issues, and all kinds of coalitions are struck to push through specific solutions

United States of Europe

I am strictly against a European superstate.

The European Union is robbing us of our national identities, our nation states.

We don't want a European super state.

For many years prior to the 1990s, European integration was embraced and supported by a large majority of citizens. A united Europe, bound by commonly-held democratic values, was perceived as an essential and effective buffer against the Soviet empire. A united Europe made a repeat of the First and Second World Wars almost unthinkable.

The U.N. system, born after the Second World War, collapsed. It's worthless.

The role that I played in Ukraine ended up resulting in Ukraine becoming part of the European community.

There's going to be a need for a system of cooperation within the continent of Europe including the U.K. that covers both economic and political cooperation.

I believe that the E.U. should be the union of nation states and that all deepening of ties between the member states cannot go beyond the limits of democracy.

We have more and more rules coming out of Europe telling us what to do, and I think people are getting a bit fed up with it. This was supposed to be a common market. I don't remember them ever saying we would be governed by Brussels and become a satellite of Europe.

The European Union is not only a great idea, but it's also an idea we must keep working on.