Winner of the 2014 European Book Prize.

A "United States of Europe", Winston Churchill proposed in 1946, could "as if by a miracle transform" that "turbulent and mighty continent". "In this way only", he continued, "will hundreds of millions of toilers be able to regain the simple joys and hopes which make life worth living".

Today, nearly seventy years later, over 500 million people live in the member states of the European Union – a greater number than in any other political community save for China and India. The currency of the Union, the euro, is used in economic transactions world-wide. Yet the EU is mired in the greatest crisis of its history, one that threatens its very existence as an entity able to have an impact upon world affairs. Europe no longer seems so mighty, instead but faces the threat of becoming an irrelevant backwater or, worse, once again the scene of turbulent conflicts. Divisions are arising all over Europe, while the popularity of the Union sinks. How can this situation be turned around?

It is a mistake, argues Anthony Giddens, to see the misfortunes of the euro as the sole source of Europe`s malaise. The Union faces problems shared by most or all of the developed states of the world. Reform in Europe must go far beyond stabilizing the euro, formidable and fraught though that task may be. Introducing an array of new ideas, Giddens suggests this is the time for a far-reaching rethink of the European project as a whole.

"A significant intervention into the debate about Europe`s future."
Gerhard Schröder, former Chancellor of Germany

"An indispensable book at a time when clear thinking about the EU is vital. Deserves to be actively debated across Europe at such a critical juncture in the continent’s history."
Javier Solana, former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Secretary-General of NATO

"In the 1980s the famous Cecchini Report played a crucial role in fostering the single currency. I expect this book by Tony Giddens to play a similar role in the creation of the more integrated Europe essential to us all twenty five years later."
Giuliano Amato, former Prime Minister of Italy