Germans, French Most in Favor of a United States of Europe

Nearly one-third of Germans back Martin Schulz’s plans for a “United States of Europe,” but support for his ideas varies greatly across the Continent, according to a poll released Thursday.

Schulz, a former European Parliament president and now leader of Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD), proposed earlier this month drafting a constitutional treaty to turn the EU into a United States of Europe by 2025, Politico reported.

According to Thursday’s YouGov survey, which was carried out before Christmas, 30% of German respondents said they favored the idea of a United States of Europe, making Germany the country that was most supportive of Schulz’s plan among the seven European nations surveyed. French participants were also relatively supportive of the idea, with 28% endorsing Schulz’s proposal.

The UK, which is set to leave the EU in March 2019, was the least supportive country with just 10% of British participants saying they agreed with the plans.

Scandinavian respondents —from Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway— were similarly unenthusiastic, with between 12% and 13% in favor of the idea.

When Schulz announced his plans for a United States of Europe at an SPD party convention, he said that once a constitutional treaty was drafted, it would “be presented to the member states, and those who are against it will simply leave the EU.”