European Liberals do not want a super state

Reacting to an op-ed in the Wall Street journal, Liberal International (to which UK Liberal Democrats are affiliated) Deputy President Hans van Baalen MEP has defended ALDE leader Guy Verhofstadt against accusations of being a “ideological European federalist who wants to impose heavy European taxes on [citizens] and who wants Europe to become a super state”. Van Baalen states that the ALDE group consists of moderate political forces that combine a “passion for the free market and private enterprise with political freedom, human rights and civil liberties.” He continues, “We European Liberals do not want a European super state but a careful balance between what should be done by the member states of the EU and the Union itself.” Mr van Baalen was elected leader of the VVD (Netherlands) group in the European Parliament in 2009 and sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee as well as the Security and Defence Committee.