In the spring of 2000, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer began another debate on the future of the European Union, political integration, democracy, and federalism. Utilising data from the 1996 Eurobarometer Top Decision-Makers Survey, this article investigates the consistencies between Fischer's vision and the opinions of European elites. In addition to finding strong levels of elite support for the EU, variable political integration, and democratic reforms, this research also questions some common assumptions about integration, sovereignty, and the democratic deficit. It finds that there is evidence for an increasingly 'European' body of elites that support federal-type sharing of authority, based on policy issues. It also finds that while there is a 'core' of pro-EU states, this core does not apply to opinion on political integration and increased EU authority. Finally, it finds that while there is generally support for increasing decision making at the EU level, there is equal, and related, support for making democratic reforms a necessary condition of political integration.
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