A specter is haunting Europe—the specter of "1992." But unlike the specter of communism invoked by Karl Marx and, Friedrich Engels more than a century ago, this one does not in- spire dread among the major powers of Europe. To the contrary. They are encouraging it to materialize.

What will actually appear remains a mystery. Some Europeans imagine a Europe economically integrated, a colossus larger than the United States in population (324 million versus 244 million) and nearly its equal in gross national product ($4.6 trillion versus $4.9 trillion). Others, going considerably beyond, envision the eventual development of a politically and culturally unified United States of Europe in which every Parisian or Berliner is a European first, a Frenchman or a German second.

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