“If the Union was based on security, how come it hasn’t stopped the infighting between the constituent nations?”

Firstly, the infighting you describe is only diplomatic infighting. In other words, the fighting amongst European states after the formation of the EU has never boiled over to actual conflict.

Also, the entire intent of the piece is to say that while security was the causal factor of early European Union, it has also hindered further attempts at European Integration. Numerous attempts to develop a common defense and foreign policy have failed because states refuse to relinquish their individual, sovereign rights that allow them to determine their own security policies.

Today, we see the biggest problem encountered by the EU is less to do with security, still to do with sovereign rights, as nations like Greece and Portugal suffer from debt problems so great that they need to be bailed out by other nations with little financial interest vested in their relief.

So, why this essay on the origins of the European Union, and why now?

After the failures to establish any agreements on global efforts to curtail the so-called anthropogenic global warming at the Copenhagen Climate Change summit, some observers and foreign leaders have suggested a new international organization be established to help facilitate global warming diplomacy and agreements.

After reading this piece, do you think that global warming is enough of a national security issue for both global powers and developing nations to agree to sacrifice some of their sovereign rights to join such an organization?