War, civil war or re-education of local populations. Note that either of these would be unlikely to succeed. Just about every EU state has survived numerous oc

War, civil war or re-education of local populations. Note that either of these would be unlikely to succeed. Just about every EU state has survived numerous occupations; some partitions; some ceased to be nation states. How can you possibly hope to force them to see themselves as Europeans first and nation A second? If anything, force or even threat of force will likely result further digging in. Overall, I agree with your post though. I personally think both France and Germany simply use EU framework for their own purposes ( Germany actually just had an interesting case that may finally shed some light over whether EU law is above German law -- that should be fun to watch - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/09/eu-launches-legal-case-against-germany-over-alleged-breach-of-eu-law-primacy-principle https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/09/eu-launches-le...).