Is the world's biggest economy in danger of disintegrating?

"Clearly I am very worried because the movement towards European co-operation or integration seems to have stalled at the moment and the aftermath of the euro crisis is going to make the movement towards disintegration more powerful," Stephen Tindale of the CER in London told CNBC.

"There's a clear need for some imaginative and inspiring European political leadership and there's no obvious figure willing or able to play that role," Tindale added. ...According to Tindale, there is no European political identity because the European Parliament – which is made of members elected by citizens in each country – does not have substantial political power and the European Commission – the executive body of the EU – is not an elected organization. "The fact that there is no European political forum is, I think, a significant factor in the absence of an European identity," he said. "I think that moving towards electing the European Commission is a sensible route to go. That would require changing the Treaty and referendums in some countries." ...The next two to three years will be "very difficult" for the union, but over the longer term the perspectives are good because the EU will promote economic growth and play an important role in climate policy, which Europeans take more seriously than other parts of the world, Tindale said. Europeans would accept the EU more readily if the European Commission were to be elected and isolationist mentalities would change through the creation of a sense of European identity, he added. However, cultural issues will not change very quickly and "the idea that it's necessary to persuade people that they are European rather than French or German or British" is not a good one, according to Tindale. "It's possible to be Californian and American; we have to move towards that. It's possible, but that will require greater political leadership," he said.