INTRODUCTION - FEDERALISM AND BUILDING THE EUROPEAN-UNION

The Treaty on European Union ratified in 1993 was another major step t oward a federal-like European union. Although the European Union is no t a federation in the classical sense, it has a number of federal-like attributes and dynamics. In addition, federal ideas, however controve rsial in parts of Europe, have contributed both to the legal, politica l, and constitutional evolution of the European Community and to the c reation of the European Union at Maastricht. A centerpiece of the new European Union is lo be the European Monetary Union, which will, if re alized, move the European Union in a more decidedly federal direction.