Why do we compare the EU with the USA all the time?

Among the economic rivals of the European Union there is definitely a distinguished one, the Unites States of America. However, numerous other dimensions of the EU’s economy, politics and society are paralleled with that of the US, and even the development of the integration is studied very often in comparison with the US. To answer the question why the USA is the number one comparison option for the EU, one needs to find the very beginning of this story, when the comparison has started. During the decades the EEC, then the EC and recently the EU have made every effort to free itself from the shadows of the United States and become a global actor in its own right. With the continuous deepening and broadening of the integration the global role of the EU has been continuously increasing. As a result, at the beginning of the 21st century the most important rival and the most important partner of the European Union is the United States, with which the unified strength of the European countries may compete. The US is not only one of the partners, but it is a special partner for the EU from several aspects. First of all, it has been a military ally, which kind of relationship outstrips any other forms in foreign policy, even the deep economic integration among the member states of the EU itself. The relations of the two parties have deep historical and cultural roots. In the light of the history overview, one may conclude that the comparison of the two actors is more than obvious. The US was there at the rise of the European integration, and also European powers assisted at the birth of the United States. Moreover, since they were the two determinant players in the so-called First World during the Cold War, they have, as a matter of course, always followed each other closely. As for the relevance of comparing the EU with the US, we may undoubtedly assert that the latter is a kind of standard to which the development and even the final outcome of an integration process can be measured. It has frequently been stated before that there is no other deep economic integration in the world like the EU. At the same time, the observer could have seen the deep historical, economical and political connections to a federal state. In the light of the (until now) unrealized “United States of Europe”, it is almost evident that the ground of comparison shall be the United States of America. On the one hand, the US may be the base of comparison economically as the most successful economic and monetary union. On the other hand, as a federal state, it may be a good base for comparison regarding political unification.