'A European superstate would cause international tension and civil war'

Ben Hall, Centre for European Reform

The European Union is a complicated hybrid, where national governments have decided that different forms of collective action will produce better results for their citizens. Much could be done to improve the accountability of EU policy-makers and the transparency of policy-making. This includes opening council proceedings to the public; directly electing the Commission president; streamlining the European Parliament's procedures; improving the role of national parliaments in scrutinising European legislation and rewriting the Rome and Maastricht treaties as a concise constitution.