Definition of Superpower and Superstate

HC Deb 01 November 2000 vol 355 c509W

Dr. Julian Lewis

To ask the Prime Minister what his definition is of(a) a superpower and (b) a superstate, including the (i) differences between them and (ii) their common features. [135009]

The Prime Minister

I said in my speech in Warsaw on 6 OctoberThe European Union is the world's biggest single economic and political partnership of democratic states. That represents a huge opportunity for Europe and the peoples of Europe. And as a Union of democracies, it has the capacity to sustain peace in our continent, to deliver unprecedented prosperity and to be a powerful force for democratic values in the rest of the world.

I also said: We want a Europe where there are national differences, not national barriers, where we hold many of our policies in common, but keep our distinct, separate identities.

That is what I mean by creating a superpower not a superstate.