The die is cast. What everyone had been expecting for so long has occurred. The joint convention of mayors of Europe's major cities has declared that all affairs will now be handled between the European Union and the major cities. This declaration of separation was released just before the first summit of the Council of heads of state and government leaders. With this move, the major cities have in one stroke sidelined their own nation states.

The convention was summoned on the basis of an initiative of EU capitals to meet more often to exchange knowledge, share ideas and discuss urban challenges and problems they had in common. By 2015, it had become clear that not only the capitals but also the major cities were dealing with comparable administrative problems. Consequently, a group of European cities came into being that soon began exchanging knowledge, expertise and ideas. But they did not stop at this. The group began to lobby the institutions of the European Union, in particular the European Commission. States declared that they did not want to deal with this group because, in their opinion, municipalities could represent their interests within the appropriate constitutional framework in their own state. It was in response to this declaration that the convention of European mayors was ultimately established.

And now in 2031 the convention has taken the ultimate political step of burying the nation state, without further ado. This step was elucidated by the spokesman of the convention with the following pronouncement: ‘People do not live in states, they live in cities.’ The German city states in particular – Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg – have expressed their full confidence in this step. They already have a significant amount of experience with enacting legislation and working with their own judicial system. Venice, Genoa and Amsterdam also foresee few problems and consider this a normal step from a historical point of view. Barcelona and San Sebastian/Donostia have also joined the convention. They recognise that the old state system no longer bears any relation to urban citizenship. They add that the governance of the city has finally been given back to the residents rather than being transferred by a historical aberration from the alleged ownership of one faraway monarch to another, equally distant government.