EU: a doomed idea

I have been to nine European countries thus far, and each one is so different I cannot understand how all these different countries could ever consolidate into one nation. Yet some are proposing they do exactly that.\nThe European leaders will try once again to ratify a constitution for a united Europe after their dismal failure in June 2004 to do the same thing. The failure of the last attempt at unification caught all of the leaders in its favor completely by surprise. It was, for them, one might say, a reality check.\nThe nation most in favor of uniting Europe is (surprise!) France, because it is the nation with the most to gain from this move. The united Europe is a French vision of Europe, based on French values with France at its helm. \n"This treaty will allow France to be stronger in Europe, and Europe to be stronger in the world," French President Jacques Chirac said in a Reuters News Service article. "A 'no' vote would weaken France and leave the way open to an 'ultra-liberal' Europe." Chirac even brought his longtime sidekick Gerhard Schröder of Germany in on the deal, saying, "France and Germany have a very special responsibility for the success of this process."\nDespite all his visions of French grandeur, Chirac might have second-guessed his own electorate about its goals. France plans to have a referendum May 29 to determine whether the French people support a united Europe.\nIt turns out that such a franco-centric vision of Europe has not met with much support in France itself. According to opinion polls, most French voters plan on rejecting Chirac's bid for a united Europe, and as many as one-third simply do not care. The opposition to the proposal results largely from high unemployment and unsuccessful economic reforms carried out by the government. Many French people fear the unemployment will rise even higher if this proposal is ratified.\nA popular rejection by the citizens of the European Union's founding member would not only embarrass Chirac and like-minded French leaders, but it would be a firm statement about the European Union's future that would have serious effects on the other 24 member nations and their involvement with France and the European Union.\nIt would be better for Europe and the world if the French do vote "non" and the European Union loses some of its cohesion. A united Europe under one constitution would peacefully achieve what Napoleon sought to achieve by war: imposing French values and French power upon the rest of Europe.\nEurope can never be so uniform and so docile to one master. Its political and cultural landscape has hardly changed since the fall of the Roman Empire. Europe is a mixture of many languages and nationalities, both national and sub-national (as with the Basques and Catalans). We must also remember that only 60 years ago, the nations now looking to unite were locked in a bitter struggle that nearly destroyed Europe.\nSo how can Europe expect to unite and stay united when it will never be homogenous nor peaceful. More importantly, why does Europe (or France) wish to defy history and attempt unity?\nFrance is trying to set up a United States of Europe to balance the United States of America as a world power. Interesting idea though it may be, Europe will never be like the United States; their histories and demographics are too different for the same effect to be achieved.\nIt is already amazing enough that Europe is as powerful as it is in the world, considering it is the second-smallest continent. European powers should be content with that.