Old and New Models of Federalism in Europe

The contradictory and complex unifying process of European Union does not seem to resemble the classic federal model, such as the United States, but rather refers to the historical legacy from the Holy Roman Empire as argued by Le Rider. The Holy Roman Empire, as it was defined by the Treaty of Peace of Westphalia, was a factor of stability, that while preventing to fall back into bloody wars, created a limited set of institutions allowed to control the imperial power.

In the same way the tragic experience of the II° World War was at the basis of the European Union as an antidote to possible future nationalists conflicts. The European unification process has been an element of law and peace, representing at the same time an old and new imperial model.  According to Khanna European Union is one of three great empires, together with the United States and China, that are distributing among themselves the global resources and influence on the world. In his view the EU is by far the most popular and most successful empire in history because, instead of dominating, educates. Incentives for the Europeanisation - subsidies from Brussels, the workers mobility, the adoption of the euro - are too profitable to not be welcome. In this way the EU is expanding not by force, but thanks to the attractiveness it exerts on its neighbors.  

The idea of Europe has led not only national level but also the local and regional authorities to research a direct relationship with the European Union institutions. In this way, the  nation states have lost a significant portion of their power. At the moment in Europe there are states with limited sovereignty and increasing power and autonomy to regional and local administrations.