Strange bedfellows

With so few committed European federalists left, a passion for European integration can produce some strange bedfellows. On Monday (1 October), Daniel Cohn-Bendit, the co-president of the Green MEPs, and Guy Verhofstadt, the leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, launched their manifesto “For Europe”, calling for more Europe as a political response to the eurozone crisis. Cohn-Bendit is at odds with the French green movement, Ecolo, because of its take on the eurozone crisis. Asked whether the two authors had sought the approval of their respective political groups for the tract, Cohn-Bendit declared: “This is the manifesto of two people.” Asked why he had got together with a Flemish liberal, Cohn-Bendit's response was: “Why not?” The pamphlet is being printed in seven languages including a free version in Greek on the internet. “It's our contribution to the Greek crisis,” Cohn-Bendit said. Problem solved.