Originally Posted by
henry999
On a similar note, I have long wondered why there can't be a single EU-wide postage stamp. It wouldn't have to be a threat to philately -- just a common stamp that could be used for posting a first-class letter of x grams from anywhere within Europe. Should be simple, no?
cheers,
Henry
Just like there should be a single financial system (why do I need a fiscal number in each country?), just like there should be a single visa system (why does each country need to maintain an embassy abroad?), etc.
The union might get to this eventually. The US took a few decades to become a federation. The EU is going that route, but there is quite a bit of opposition, as states are afraid to lose their sovereignty.
Another thing - when you're talking about a single postal system, don't forget that some post offices are privatized, others are government-owned companies, so there's a lot of difficulty there as well.