Discuss the appropriateness of using the same leadership style across all European Union countries.

While the declared purpose of the European Union was economic integration, the underlying purpose was to eliminate the discrepancies among European nations that historically led to political divisions and conflict. By the start of the second half of the 20th century, Europe had experienced the two most destructive conflicts in history, the two world wars. Out of the devastation of the Second World War grew a commitment among the liberal democracies of the West (Eastern Europe being occupied by the totalitarian Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or Soviet Union) to integrate economically and politically so that another destructive conflict like the two world wars would be far less likely to occur. In order for economic and political integration to occur, however, there had to be guiding principles adherence to which was required for full membership in what became the European Union. All members had to agree to abide by principles that included democratic forms of government with maximum transparency (i.e., member governments had to operate "in the open" so that their citizens could witness governmental processes), and the free movement of goods, services, and people within the union. In other words, free trade was a founding principle of the union, along with the requirement for democracy, and respect for human rights. The prologue to the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht, which formalized the European Union, includes the following declaration applicable to all member states:

“CONFIRMING their attachment to the principles of liberty, democracy and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and of the rule of law,”

Additionally, Article B of the treaty states the following:

“The Union shall set itself the following objectives: - to promote economic and social progress which is balanced and sustainable, in particular through the creation of an area without internal frontiers, through the strengthening of economic and social cohesion and through the establishment of economic and monetary union, ultimately including a single currency in accordance with the provisions of this Treaty; . . .[and] - to strengthen the protection of the rights and interests of the nationals of its Member States through the introduction of a citizenship of the Union;”

Democracy, respect for human rights, and the free movement of goods, services, people, and capital (i.e., money) are all explicit principles of the European Union. These principles demand a certain amount of commonality among member states, and the fact that the union is experiencing serious problems due to the vast economic and social discrepancies that came into being as the union expanded over time to include more and more members, is testament to the importance of that commonality. The founding governments recognized that, without all members looking politically-alike, the European Union could not succeed.