Comparable to the “Core Europe” that some have suggested and pushed for in the recent past, a new “super-region” is being proposed, but this time a little more to the east. Politicians in Austria, Italy, Croatia and Slovenia are discussing the uniting of their peoples, in what would be a significant part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that ended in 1918. Included in this group of politicians is Austria's Jorg Haider, founder of that country's far-right Freedom party.

Although economic and/or environmental regions have been created within the EU before (Germany and the Netherlands have one, as do Poland and the Czech Republic), they typically focus on one issue. Riccardo Illy, president of the northeastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, said, “We want to give birth to a broader coordination of infrastructure, economic development, energy, culture, health and tourism [policies].”

Although the plan is likely to receive an icy response from Tony Blair and other European leaders, one must wonder if some in Germany feel a little differently.

Source: The Guardian