> Did you have something else in mind? I don't exactly pay any attention to US politics but I am sure their states are competing with each other because they ha

> Did you have something else in mind? I don't exactly pay any attention to US politics but I am sure their states are competing with each other because they have their own interests in mind. But that applies to cities too, does it not? This is pretty much solved by the enumerated powers clause. Outside of the dozen or so federal powers the central government handles, the states operate mostly autonomously (something non-Americans, particularly Europeans, find impossible to comprehend; at least based on common internet discourse). Presumably, the same could be done for a Federated EU; but it's unlikely a good chunk of the nations (particularly the wealthy ones) would be willing to cede their ultimate sovereignty to a central power.