That was an extremely controversial phrase and Lisbon nearly fell apart due to it. It's worth noting that the full aim is "to continue the process of creating a

That was an extremely controversial phrase and Lisbon nearly fell apart due to it. It's worth noting that the full aim is "to continue the process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe, in which decisions are taken as closely as possible to the citizen in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity". It was specifically worded that the union was of the peoples of the bloc, not the countries. The Union of European Federalists have apparently 100,000 members out of a population of ~450 million. It's beyond a niche organisation.