“In today’s tense, multi-polar situation, European unification makes it possible for us to play a role which no one could have foreseen back at the start of the East-West conflict. At the outset, “Europe” was a response to internal problems; today, when we think about the future of Europe, our eyes are mainly on problems which challenge us from the outside.”
“in most countries there are silent majorities that favour a strengthening of the European Union. The underlying reason for paralysis is rather that various governments have differing objectives to the Union.”
“The only way out I can see is a Europe-wide referendum. The governments – which control the process after all – have to recognize their own powerlessness and, this one time, “dare to use democracy.” They have to rise above themselves and face the political parties of which they themselves are composed with the necessity of engaging in an open, Europe-wide campaign, a struggle for each and every vote in favour of, or in opposition to, an expansion and deepening of the European Union.”
Read the full interview here: http://www.perlentaucher.de/artikel/3795.html (in German) or here http://europeanreferendum.blogspot.com/2007/04/jrgen-habermas-only-way-out-is-euro.html (translated into English)