Ever closer union means an EU that moves ineluctably from economic and monetary union to banking union, then to fiscal union, and finally to political union.

Gauck may not have gone far enough At this point, an ever closer union may be a political mirage.

When European unification was launched, it was thought that ever closer union would establish a community that would protect Europeans from political blackmail.

By cooperating with the rest of the United Kingdom, rather than clashing, Scotland is giving new meaning to the phrase ever closer union.

As a result, Germany bound itself to the idea of ever closer union even more definitively by pledging to join the common European currency, the euro.

For decades, reconciliation and its most remarkable achievement the Franco German rapprochement was the trademark of the project to create an ever closer union in Europe.

A final way of thinking about the EU is as the ever closer union referred to in the Treaty of Rome and echoed in the Maastricht Treaty.

Unfortunately, the compact is likely to be another example of Europe s subordination of economic reality to politicians desire for bragging rights about progress toward ever closer union.

It also moves Serbia closer to European Union membership.

But the EU s enlargement in 2004 failed to stop the momentum toward ever closer union. Of the ten countries that joined then, seven are now in the eurozone.

Taking their cue from the sacred Rome Treaty s reference to ever closer union, the European Commission s theologians view every crisis as an opportunity to advance their federalist agenda.

But recent events do spell the end of one version of European integration the vision of an ever closer union producing a federal country that would become a new superpower.

On the contrary, the sustainable prosperity that would result from that adjustment would create a much healthier long term foundation for continuing the quest for an ever closer union in Europe.

After several years of intense negotiation, agreement seemed to be closer than ever.

The consequences of Germany s renunciation of that role are predictable the EU will regress from a union of states moving towards ever closer integration to a weak confederation dominated by conflicting national interests.

Closer ties between Russia and the European Union make sense for similar reasons.

These infrastructure investments clearly hold the potential to bind Asia closer together than ever before.

Given recent technological developments, the possibility that space weapons could be deployed looms ever closer.

The EU began with the right idea in the Balkans to bring those countries closer to each other by bringing them closer to the Union.

The EU began with the right idea in the Balkans to bring those countries closer to each other by bringing them closer to the Union.

Europe is neither dead nor dying. But recent events do spell the end of one version of European integration the vision of an ever closer union producing a federal country that would become a new superpower.

The problem with this Germanophobia is not simply that it is stupid, or that it is yet another symptom of the decomposition, before our eyes, of the noble European project of integration and ever closer union.

It welcomes the ever closer partnership between the African Union, the African subregional organizations and the United Nations in the area of peacemaking and peacekeeping and stresses the importance of extending this partnership to peacebuilding efforts.

Internal stability and economic recovery continue to be elusive, with the specter of civil war hovering ever closer.

But, save for a few whalers and explorers, not many people ever went to have a closer look.

Back in 1957, the motive for laying the foundations of an ever closer union of the peoples of Europe was to make war between European nations obsolete, and, in doing so, to bring internal stability to all European nations.

But with China s rapid ascent and ever closer integration with the outside world, this doctrine has become increasingly anachronistic.

It could also help lessen the tendency of some governments to gravitate ever closer towards the booming Chinese economy.

France and Germany were joined at the hip economic cooperation was meant to lead to closer political union.

Since 1979 expenditure on healthcare has been increased significantly to bring it closer to the European Union average.

However, since Austria became a member state of the European Union it has gained closer ties to other European Union economies, reducing its economic dependence on Germany.

Israel, deaf to Obama s urging, is further from reconciliation with Palestine, and closer to war with Iran, than it has ever been.

On a recent visit to Africa, a senior agricultural scientist said that in today s world, the scientist is closer than ever before to the farmer, but farther away than ever from the policymakers.

The African Union is taking an ever more active role in peace and security.

BARCELONA The European Union has brought 28 countries into a closer political and economic union. Paradoxically, it has also made it more feasible to contemplate the breakup of some of those countries.

These divisions have created deep doubts about the dream of ever closer union in Europe, underpinned by a shared system of governance that allows for more effective decision making. Likewise, they are not conducive to implementation of the reforms that are needed to spur economic growth.

PRINCETON Last week, in a highly anticipated speech, German President Joachim Gauck cautioned against the blind pursuit of an ever closer European Union, acknowledging that the growing inequality among member states is generating a sense of unease, even unmistakable anger, and increasing the risk of national humiliation.

If the eurozone forges ahead, what countries outside the zone do may not matter much anymore. Moreover, other Europeans may end up agreeing with Cameron that ever closer political union in Europe is undesirable if they have a choice, that is, which is by no means certain.

To avoid this outcome, Europe s leaders must begin designing and implementing strategies aimed at bringing the eurozone closer to a fiscal union.

What has changed is the pressure of globalization, which is pushing the world s peoples ever closer together as technology advances and shrinks the world.

Growing interconnectedness and interdependence, which is the hallmark of the new millennium, has been a major unifying force, bringing nations and civilizations ever closer.

I am concerned, therefore, by the most recent reported statement by the Polisario leadership that a return to arms may be closer than ever .

Today, China is producing literary exiles at a faster rate that the Soviet Union ever achieved.

It's getting closer and closer, and in 20 ...

COPENHAGEN The European Commission recently unveiled long awaited measures to bring neighboring countries in the Mediterranean and the former Soviet Union closer to Europe.