Europe should turn into a “political federation”, according to the European Commission’s vice-president Vivian Reding.

“The time has come to build a European Federation,” Ms Reding writes in an opinion piece published in The Times today, in which she calls for the EU to opt for a similar approach to that of the US.

Her article is being published on the same day that European leaders are meeting in Brussels to discuss ways of deepening integration.

“If we want to preserve and strengthen Europe’s position in the world, we need to turn our economic and monetary union into a strong European political federation with a monetary, fiscal and banking union, covering at least the Eurozone, while being open to all EU member states that wish to join,” she says. “The answer to the crisis is therefore more Europe.”

Meanwhile, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has written to EU heads of states saying his report issued on Tuesday about establishing closer ties within Europe was not a final blueprint but that he expected a “common understanding” to be reached.

When contacted about Ms Reding’s proposal, Nationalist MEP Simon Busuttil, who has frequently called for a political union, said he agreed.

“This is the next big vision that politicians in Malta should have,” he said.

However, Labour MEP Edward Scicluna said Ms Reding had “jumped the gun”.

Mr Van Rompuy was seeking integrated fiscal and economic decision-making to assuage the financial market, he said. Since this would mean giving greater powers to the European Commission and supervisory authorities, a strong mechanism was needed to ensure accountability.

“But not where Ms Reding wants to take it... That, today, is still a dead end,” he said, indicating that the federalist proposal would be opposed by many member states.