That's a loaded question. They could become very powerful if they could work out their differences but since they are entirely different countries, it would be very difficult. I'm a European doesn't sound as definitive as I'm French or I'm English, etc.

The first reason that comes into my head is money.

Because their leaders aren't power hungry morons.

I think the cultural differences involved in the EU mean that it is unlikely to ever be completely united to the level of the United States which means it could not really compete on that scale. The different nations within the EU have very different identities and don't slot together particularly easily, this has already been shown by the rejection of referendums and political opposition towards the European constitution. As a Brit, I put my country first (over the EU) and would never really say 'I'm from Europe'. In the near future I certainly can't see the people of Europe accepting some kind of superstate and therefore it would be difficult to build up a construction similar to the US. This means it will always be hard to draw an accurate comparison between the two.

Power, in the way mean, is a cyclical thing. Look back through history to the Roman Empire, at the time there was nothing to compare with it in terms of power and influence. Jump forward a few centuries when the European countries, particularly Britain and Spain were major world powers. Look at the power and influence of the British Empire before it broke up. Consider how powerful the USSR was just a few short years ago. Consider the current growth in China. It would be a very brave, or very simplistic, person who would insist that the EU, or any other country or group of countries will NEVER be as powerful as the United States. Could it be that Nero is already tuning up his fiddle?

EU will be more powerful than America and that will happen within a decade Euro dollar is already above the US dollar,and still rising .The US economy I stagnant and the trade deficit it higher then it has ever been and still rising.The European economy is on the rise and new countries are entering the union.Also oil that was once based on the US dollar is converting to the EU dollar because it is more stable.

1) I am not going to look for reasons, because I do not agree. A more united Europe could also have some day more international influence than a self destructing U.S. 2) But I do not think that we should think in categories of power. What all the countries of the world should achieve in the 21th century is not to get more power over the others. We should cooperate to find common solutions to the problems of the planet, part of which were caused by our past divisions. I would wish such goals would be included in the future European constitution. 3) I still feel somewhat French, but I like Germany and the Germans, as I am living there: I feel really European. And I feel also a citizen of the World.

The European Union is first of all a bunch of former enemies. Germany is still regarded and treated as an enemy as ever before. And Germany is nothing but an inferior tolerated member by the rest. Everybody knows very well that Germany is anything else but welcome and that nobody likes Germany.nOnly in regard of their economy Germany is accepted as a rightless and inferior member. So there is among the European countries which have united against Germany at the moment and for the future a cease-fire and no peace. Based on the hostility against Germany as an enemy, Europa will never be united and never be able to find common solutions. The differences between most European countries and their deeply hostile politics and treatment against Germany will avoid a real unification. The only point which is uniting the rst of the EU-members that is their deep hatred and their deep hostility against Germany. Time as stopped in 1945 and the rest of the European countries have stopped with their attitude in 1945 and this will never change because enemies will stay enemies, however you might call it now. The basics of the EU is the common hatred and hostility against Germany. The German governments should finally accept that Germany has no friends at all but only former enemies around its borders.

I am rather sure that the EU is nothing but an inferior punch and judy show which will end within the next two years. The different political goals are so mich different that it will never work. And former enemies never can cooperate because enemies stay enemies. So I hope and think that Germany will leave the EU as one of the first countries and isolate on itself by closing our borders and keeping out the rest of our enemies out of our country by cutting relations to all Europeans nations that don't like us. Those who like us will be welcome and the others we keep strictly out by closing our borders to the north and to the west. Then Germany can start a new partnership with other nations which like us and who did not stop in their mentality for the rest of the world in 1945. We will see if this will be good for Europe but there are so many more intelligent nations around our country which can handle this situation without Germany. Germany should leave the EU and the NATO instantly and over night because both we don't need.

It is clear for most of the rest of the EU if Germany leaves, the EU has found its end. Indeed there are not all people around us that kind of anti-germanic and I would have rather hoped that one day we can feel as Germans as the same people as the rest of Europe. But I have my deep doubts that this will ever happen. So one solution could have been that Germany would have stayed neutral and completely isolated after 1945 because Germany has kicked out itself for eternity from the community of European and western countries. This would have been the right way. Cutting any kind of relations to all western countries with strict borders and complete neutrality as a very special country with a vey special history for eternity. Our former politicians and by the pressure of our enemy countries, first of all the USA and Great Britain, were forcing us into the NATO and the recreation of an army aginst the will of 80 % of the poeople and our politicians were stupid enough to believe in any kind of sa reconciliation which never will happen. Some countries say : One time enemy, ever enemy. So nothing has ever changed in their mind and nothing will ever change. The Netherlands surely are an exception as well as for example Italy, Belgium or Luxemburg. But there are still very important countries like Great Britain, France, Denmark, Norway or Poland which will never stop their never ending hostility and deeply cultivated hatred against Germany and so speaking to foreigner you always have to be aware that he will show you your national mirror and then you can say nothing else but leave. I would not even say that it is the people itself but much more it is their politicians who feed their people daily with anti-german feelings and the British politics for example is completely based on Anti-German campaigns supported by the official TV and press and the same you have actually in Poland or in France. In Holland as we say most politicians speak a wonderful German and they are proud of it and so I think they do not feed their people with anti-german feelings and bias. In France it is a kind of sports being anti-german and anyway the people itself think quite different. So I just think it is a few countries which are cultivating their anti-german politics until the end of the days and which never will see Germany as a partner but only as an enemy. Britain is the best example for that. This way Europe never will succeed and therefore so many German people are nothing but deeply disappointed and say that Germany should look for better friends as the British or the Americans or the French. If they don't like us, they just should tell us and Germany would probably leave the NATO as well as the EU and look for new friends who are already waiting. The rest of Europe can do as they like and do as they like. We have a perfect neighbourship for example with Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Holland, Belgium and Luxemburg. The best relationship we have with Greece, Spain, Turkey and Portugal. Even in former Yugoslavia we have our friends and of course in Rumania and Bulgaria as well as in Russia, Only a few countries make the trouble and the most important are Great Britain, France and Poland. Perhaps you mentioned that no German politician ever dares to visit London? They all know that they are welcomed with stupid comments and treated like a member of some african tribe from their former colonies. And as Mr Putin speaks perfect German without any accent like the rest of his wole family and our Lady Chancellor speaks perfect Russian and no word English, she prefers to go there where she is treated better. As long as the old super powers still think and believe that they are super powers, Europe never will be successful and so I think the idea of Europe will completely fail in the next two years. Perhaps there will be a new beginning after that with Germany and some surrounding countries but without France and withaout Great Britain. In a certain way I think Great Britain does not belong at all to Europe. It is a quite different continent which has nothing to do at all with the rest of Europe. Germany , the Benelux, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Italy could be a new and better solution and all the others we should strictly keep out.We really do not need them at all.

How do you measure the power? ... by so many failed invasions? ... by the wealth of Israel to control politics and media? ... or the state of an economy left from a stupid leader? It would seem the EU has less to fear from self infliction ... Things are already changing with time as truth and more understanding presents itself to shift the balance of scale ... Things are changing ... :) Same roof > Peace

Because some countries will leave it the next few years. It will not work because the mental differences are bigger as between the Beduins and the German people. The european Union is nothing but a reunion of controversal ideas and political goals. Series of countries are hostile against others almost as if they were still at war. It is nothing but a bunch of chauvinistic political actors, each trying to overtake leadership over other countries. Napoleon or Queen Mary would have created the EU for their ends.

If the EU wants to be powerful, they first of all would need an army and this will never happen. This would mean a common european army with mixed people from all European nations, which would pass any imagination. Mixed units have been since ever in the NATO nothing but very sad jokes. If you would mix British soldiers with German and Italian soldiers I think the British would first kill all of them as soon as they can. Germany and France were trying but it ended in a bad joke because the French were doing aynything to work against the Germans. They had to stop that experiment. The differences between the European nations have grown so much that the people are stranger to each other than ever before. So finally even the politicians meanwhile gave up and I think only very few nationalities can live together in harmony.

I'd hesitate to say "never," just because that's an invitation to be proven wrong. There are a number of critical differences between the EU member states, and the process of surrendering sovereignty over any particular issue to a supranational organization is not easy. It shouldn't surprise anybody that the embrace of the euro as a standard currency hasn't been universal among EU members yet. Still, remember that one of the reasons the U.S. in 1789 adopted the Constitution that we currently have is that, quite literally, Massachusetts and New York were on the verge of declaring war on each other, state governments also had their own currencies in many cases, and some pursued their own foreign policies. Also remember that it wasn't until the 1870's (after the Civil War) that standard usage in American English referring to the U.S. became "the United States is...," as opposed to "the United States are." In other words, Americans didn't just wake up one morning in 1776 and decide they were all one big happy country. It took the better part of a century (and a brutal civil war) for that idea to really take hold, and it was quite a bit longer before it just became everyone's baseline attitude. So whatever bumps and barriers the EU hits along the way, I wouldn't consider them insurmountable. And in terms of power, that takes many forms -- military, cultural, diplomatic and economic power can appear in different mixes at different times. Comparing one country's mix to another's can be like comparing apples and oranges.

The old contradictions bias and prejudices among the different nations seem to me much worse as in 1914. The French political class (not the people!) have the same problems with the Germans as they had in 1914 or in 1870. In the contrary the differences between the German political clas and the French political class are even worse than ever. French politics is always against never for Germany. The British and the French are in the same rivalry as ever and they only are the same opinion if they can go together against Germany. Both regard themselves as superpowers and have completely different political ambitions as for example Germany, while the German opinion never was of any interest if it was the British or the French. In Poland the political class is riding since a few years a very chauvinistic and ugly and dirty anti-german campaign. Nobody knows in Germany why. The basical political differences between the political classes in France, Germany and Britain have never been before so big as in the moment. Especially France and Britain make their completely own politics which is absolutely different to any German point of view. Spain and Italy are absolutely not happy with the British and French alliance and smaller countries like Hungary, Holland or Czech feel fooled by the two big superpowers. And there have still grown all well known bias against Germany as stronger as ever before in history so that Germany feels isolated in the EU and onyl supported by the smallere countries which are clearly fed up witzh the attitude of the two superpowers. Germany as the biggest payer of all contributions to the EU is as a matter of course never regarded as a partner but more than a part of a former colonial tribe somewhere in Africa. The Belgians are fed up with the cheeky and stupid dominance of their French speaking part and love to kick them out to France where they should be. Between Germay/Britain and France there is not any kind of cooperation, so that it is absolutely impossible that there will be ever a common political opinion of the European community. In its poltical sense the EU is after my opinion more than dead. Respect to others is completely strange to the French as well as to the British politics and their political classes. They are used to make politics like colonial masters. The Eu is nothing but a completely dead institution which is fed with a lot of money just for nothing. An intelligent country like Germany should leave as soon as possible.

too many countries crammed in a small area to have military might you need one miltiary under one command

well one is that it's a economic alliance not a federation and two, can you imagin the french and english fighting togather when thier country is not at stake = the EU could not effectly put thier history behind them and so will never fight as one unless put to a VERRY severe test

Let us face the facts, the U.S of A is and always had been, imperialistic.Since Jefferson bought Louisiana we have grabbed an absolutely huge amount of land on our main land mass, the Continental 48 that truthfully we had not right to, we orchestrated a genocide of native that would make Hitler proud and we continued to sweep up land whenever we could. We have MANY islands, and other places such as PR. Honestly if someone else tried to put up facilities on the moon we would have a huge problem with it and it might mean a conflict. Now, that said, am I against it? No, not really, if not for what I previously described I would not be living in the richest most powerful nation on this planet. This is why the U.S will always be more powerful than the EU. Frankly if it ever happened that we went to war, the EU would go down much faster than they believe. I have had the opportunity to witness some military tech that is not for the public to view and phew man, there is a reason that we spend such a huge amount on defense. The only way the U.S is going down is if it is U.S vs. World in which case it is game over for the earth. Of course I hope nothing of the sort happens. The EU is closer to the Articles of Confederation with each nation holding more power, and like the other have said there is way too much bloody history in the EU to ever be truly united.

I fear the good chances of a good idea have gone. I just read that after the newest public research 56 % of the German people are clearly against a membership in the NATO and think that we should leave. I think some countries can not imagine that Germany could look for new and better friends and Russia is permanently offering its deep friendship to Germany. And there are lots of people who say that the Russians are our better friends than British and French. And Russian is meanwhile the second language in many schools. Many people are extremely frustrated about the colonial attitude of France and Britain. And as you see Mrs.Merkel never was visiting Britain and France only a single time but in Russia she wsas quite often. The USA are an exception.

I think if the EU will fail completely in thext few months, France and Britain will pay the highest price for this failure which was caused only by these two countries. And it will be rather thrilling and interesting to watch how high this price will be they will have to pay. Germany will do easy and even much better if they leave the EU but also a series of the smaller countries will pay an extremely high price just like France and Britain. I think Germany is in a real win-situation and should use its unique chance. Both countries will have a complete break-down of their econmies and social sytems. And after all what happened to the Germans in the last 60 years just by these two nations, I don't think Germans will be prepared to share just with these two nations. I am rather sure that the EU will find its end in spring next year, depending on the world economy. We have an immese crash ahead of us.