Almost zero Quote by Vaclav Klaus
“This is crossing the Rubicon, after which there will be no more sovereign states in Europe with fully-fledged governments and parliaments which represent legitimate interests of their citizens, but only one State will remain. Basic things will be decided by a remote 'federal government' in Brussels and, for example, Czech citizens will be only a tiny particle whose voice and influence will be almost zero. ... We are against a European superstate.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: European Union referendum debate, Czech Republic, 2016
The speaker warns that a fully integrated European superstate would erode national sovereignty, reducing citizens to insignificant participants under a distant bureaucracy.
In simple terms: A unified Europe could strip nations of real power.
Guard national autonomy.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- national elections
- policy debates
- citizen activism
- media commentary
- academic analysis
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How would you balance European cooperation with national self‑determination?
- What safeguards could protect citizen voice in a larger union?
The EU may still preserve meaningful local influence through subsidiarity mechanisms.