a'la mode
Member
Our general understanding of states is not the end all be all evolution of statehood, and thinking of the EU in terms of the unitary/federal state binary is a bit old fashioned. It sits kind of in between, with key differences of course, like the ability to actually leave the EU whereas states couldn't leave a federation (without a civil war). Also, member states still continue to be sovereign unitary states, but through their membership delegate some of that sovereignty into the EU to ensure that common policy can be adequately created and enforced, and yes, primacy of EU law is also in the package. You can't really apply old "shoulds" and "shouldn'ts" to it, because it's really just a collection of states going "fuck it, let's try something new". It's a new construct, an evolution or an experiment, and in the long run it could prove to be better or worse than what came before. So far my impression is that most EU residents, aside from the more nationalistic-populistic leaning parties and groups, have been quite happy with how the EU has turned out to be.
Clinging to the old school of thought in regards to sovereignty is a fair position to have, I'm not telling you you are necessarily wrong, but it can't be denied that a construct like the EU can (and has been so far) be more stable and wield more power and leverage collectively and be a bigger player globally, than a collection of random states jerking left or right on the whim of the current political climate. If all these little countries were alone, the US, Russia, and China would not give two flying shits about what the president from Noonecaresland with less people than these countries have in one city would have to say.
