Alot of these countries still hold major grudges given their history. Many believe they are better than the others and look down upon them. This is a bad idea. Good luck to them, I hope it works.

Looks like a job for Gorby or maybe Obama. What is the difference?

It works for the US's federal system. I've traveled all around the US and can tell you that many people I met in Georgia and South Carolina STILL hold a historical grudge against the yankees.

People in New York certainly look down upon people from Mississippi or even Utah.

Despite the differences among people democracy still seems to work.

Europe is too important to the world for it to fail. Since the relative decline of the US under the Bush adminstration the EU has taken on a greater role in international affairs. The EU's GDP is the largest in the world. Developing countries emulate the EU model of governance; social democracies with parliamentary systems instead of the US system. The 'president' of the EU will no doubt be seen as the most important political figure in the world and, should the Union choose an Airbus 380 as the official aircraft of the executive, have a larger and more advanced 'Airforce One' than his American counterpart.