Seahorse, just because of the rejection there might start coming together.
Let's see why that might happen:
1) Self-sufficient and wide diversification in economies i.e. Scandinavian North is high tech (telecomm), central EU engineering (nuclear engineering, space industry, satellite), Southern EU states (agriculture), renewable energy potential in the North (wind) and South (solar+biomass)
2) Expanded rail based transportation and sea based transportation
3) Populations that tend to be more sympathetic of the idea of a central government and intervention than otherwise
4) Social capital seems to be more intact in europe than here (unfortunately)
5) Expanded university and technical education in science and engineering. The Framework Programmes in Research have fostered cooperation of teams among different countries enhancing the formation of network of excellence. Too bad that NSF has focused on providing individual grants than team grants here
6) Research in renewable and sustainable transport technology which is diversified (i.e. VESTAS in wind turbines, Siemens is solar, Distributed IT management technologies pioneered by French/Spaniard/Greek research institutes and companies
7) A highly successful IT and Computer Science sector focusing on open source, scientific computing and engineering software rather than web sites and e-buskets

People acutely more aware of environmental problems
9) An expanded market (actually much larger than the one here)
10) People much more involved in the political process than here (this is soooo sad btw)
11) An EU political process that focused on the peripheries and allowed and even enforced on the member states governments to redirect funds to cooperations between peripheries (think in terms of counties/districts from different states getting money from state - federal government to establish financial, scientific and small business solutions)
12) A focus on Small Medium Businesses (here it is all about the mega-corporations)
13) Proximity to the Mid East And Russia (and the pipelines either end up in current member states (i.e. Greece), future member states (Bulgaria) or states likely to join or form a trade agreement with the EU (Turkey)
So ... if one thinks (as I do) that the solution to PO is
people enforcing changes through a democratic process (yes party corruption is rampant there as well and they do cocaine in the Europarliament

) then we have a situation where:
- people more likely to come up with technical solutions even if temporary fixes are already forming trans-national groups and they can enforce stuff on their governments
- people more likely to demand political changes wanting to help themselves accustomed to working with people from other member states (even if stereotypes are still alive and kicking)
- distributed skills and needs in terms of food production, agriculture, among countries (thus making cooperation profitable)
- the citizens more likely to accept and even demand government intervention
- people generally suspicious of total de-regulation and free market idolization (well with the exception of the Britts)
The freeze to the "Constitution" will make political leaders listen ....
Interesting times indeed ....
"Nuclear power has long been to the Left what embryonic-stem-cell research is to the Right--irredeemably wrong and a signifier of moral weakness."Esquire Magazine,12/05
The genetic code is commaless and so are my posts.