United States of Europe  The United States of Europe (USE), the European State, the European Superstate, the European Federation and Federal Europe are similar hypothetical scenarios of a single sovereign country in Europe, organised as a federation (hence superstate), similar to the United States of America, as contemplated by political scientists, politicians, geographers, historians, futurologists, and fiction writers. At present, while the European Union (EU) is not officially a federation, various academic observers regard it as having the characteristics of a federal system. Specifically, the term "United States of Europe" – as a direct comparison with the United States of America – would imply that each of the European states would acquire a status similar to that of a U.S. state, becoming constituent parts of a European federation acting as one sovereign country. The term European Superstate, particularly by eurosceptics within the United Kingdom, is usually used as a criticism of further integration into the EU with a loss of national sovereignty, although it has occasionally been used positively in the British press. Various versions of the concept have developed over the centuries, many of which are mutually incompatible (inclusion or exclusion of the United Kingdom, secular or religious union, etc.). Such proposals include those from Bohemian King George of Podebrady in 1464; Duc de Sully of France in the seventeenth century; and the plan of William Penn, the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, for the establishment of a "European Dyet, Parliament or Estates". George Washington also allegedly voiced support for a "United States of Europe", although the authenticity of this statement has been questioned. Felix Markham notes how during a conversation on St. Helena, Napoleon Bonaparte remarked: "Europe thus divided into nationalities freely formed and free internally, peace between States would have become easier: the United States of Europe would become a possibility". "United States of Europe" was also the name of the concept presented by Wojciech Jastrzębowski in "About eternal peace between the nations", published 31 May 1831. The project consisted of 77 articles. The envisioned United States of Europe was to be an international organisation rather than a superstate. Giuseppe Mazzini, an early advocate of a "United States of Europe" regarded the European unification as a logical continuation of the unification of Italy. Mazzini created the Young Europe movement. The term "United States of Europe" () was used by Victor Hugo, including during a speech at the International Peace Congress held in Paris in 1849.