Let me put it another way. Today, Europe keeps the things they have because the US chooses not to take them. If your happy with trusting the US to not take your countries resources for the next few hundred years, then by all means, keep doing what your doing.

If one day my country was worth 10 or 20 times what the US is worth, I would rather remove that option from the minds of the US leaders.

(you could replace the US with any country, they just happen to have the military power today).

Ode to Joy is the national anthem of Europe?

Didn't know that.

And no. I doubt it will catch up.

However despite the numbers advantage the US economy is still more important. The EU has to be more together before it'll pass the US as far as economic importance and force of will.

As for the most impressive army.

Maybe with Barak Obama cutting back conventional military spending.  I doubt it though unless the cuts go a lot deeper.

The high tech American stuff is ahead of anything even the British have.

Nah.  The US should remain a superpower as long as they keep up the military spending to a level consistant with other countries.

Capitalism tends to bring out the best in scientists so the US should keep a military edge,unless it massivly cuts back spending or other groups massivly massivly increase spending.

The USSR wasn't a Superpower because of it's kickass economy that's for sure.

I think that, going forward, Europe is going to face a lot of issues if it really tries to become more unified like the US is.

We're facing tons of massive problems since we're so large, and intergrated...We're still the largest single economy, and will be for a long time. Claiming the EU is bigger is like taking a real pot shot at America - We are vastly, infinitely, more intergrated than the EU currently is, and will be for some time.

If EU does what we did, it may struggle to continue to surpass the United States in it's economy. However, as it currently stands, it's in good condition, as there's a bit more freedom between the countries.

How will the European Union's population increase when the population of the countries inside it are decreasing? The article lost all credibility with that mistake.

Why do republican Americans get defensive whenever Europeans talk about themselves. Are they insecure that we are a more powerful economy or do they not like our liberal take on things?

a bit of both it would seem, that and some of them maybe, are a little imperialistic (the last one i hope is a joke)

in fairness, i think that the members you refer to arent all republicans

I think, eventually, Europe will become the new superpower. Actually, I hope Europe becomes the new superpower because America has misused it's power.

No I'm thinking of four very republican, very anti-British twats, who are very quick to critisise our country with their elitest, hollier that thou dickhead attitudes. I bet none of them have even been to Britain.

Every one of their posts is just filled with logic errors and holes in their facts to make them seem like the dickhead superior race...

WELL I'M FUCKING SICK OF IT NOW!!!!!!! I'M GETTING PISSED OFF!!!!!

And they judge me when I try to defend England, Britain or Europe as though I'm some mental patient who has escaped and is shouting crap at people on the net.

I am unsure. Why don't you ask your European friends that get offensive when discussing American issues? How are we 'getting defensive' in this post? They're honest questions that you've failed to really address.