How I see Europe after living here for 10+ years

A failed experiment?

"Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity."

Robert Schuman

Europe, the EU, the Euro these are all contentious concepts with many conflicting definitions.

In this piece I want to explore a few different lenses through which many leaders both current and past have thought about it.

Before we get into the meat of what Europe represents, what it actually is and how I see it after over 10 years of living here I need to give you some context first.

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I was born in the United Kingdom to an English father and a Swiss mother and so even though I had this connection to it through my mother Europe was just known as “the continent.”

It was this far and distant land marked by ancient ruins, cobbled streets and foreign languages. I thought of Europe as a landmass, something you could see on a map and point out in geography class.

I understood the cultural element to it. I grew up with all the cultural stereotypes that you no doubt did as well.

I thought that Germans were efficient machines, Italians valued fashion, food and family above all else, Switzerland was just cheese chocolate and clocks.

The Spanish ate only Paella, the austrians sang in the mountains and…I think you get the idea.

I kind of saw Europe as this patchwork mishmash of exotic cultures and traditions. One thing I never quite understood is where one country ends and the next begins.

Later as I grew up I learned about the world wars and my idea of Europe shifted from a place of interesting food, culture and language to power struggles and world domination.

After all the vast majority of European history is conquest, annihilation and obliteration.

So what is Europe?

"Europe is not a fairy tale, but a great success story.”

Angela Merkel

The devastation of two world wars gave birth to a new definition of europe. From the rubble rose a conceptual values based identity something that had little to do with the geographical landmass.

After the war European leaders led by the likes of Jean Monnet and Robert Schumann conceived an experiment.

To unite their nations through economic interdependence.

The creation of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, followed by the Treaty of Rome in 1957, laid the groundwork for the European Economic Community (EEC).

By most accounts this initiative, was rooted in an idealistic vision of peace—a conviction that shared economic interests would render conflict both unthinkable and economically irrational.

What better way to prevent war than to entangle economies and cultures to literally make it suicide to start one?

The birth of modern Europe was built on a set of unshakable values and traditions associated with modern democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

Whatever individual differences countries had these values served to galvanise disparate cultures together for the greater good.

In this sense, “Europe” symbolised an ideal of progress, rationality, and cultural identity that extended beyond mere geography or politics.

"We must build a kind of United States of Europe.”

Winston Churchill

Churchill’s vision highlights the idea of a united Europe, transcending individual nations to create peace, cooperation, and collective strength.

It was an era when the memory of war still burned bright, and the collective desire to never return to those dark days drove nations to forge new bonds.

For those who have never experienced war it’s difficult to understand but there just comes a time when you want the war to be over.

When you are exhausted by the bloodshed and everything else just seems inconsequential. Even for power hungry politicians

The one guiding light is to ensure that it never happens again, that history is not allowed to repeat itself.

The Euro: A Symbol of Unity and Stability

The introduction of the euro at the turn of the millennium seemed to be the next logical step in European integration.

It was not just about a shared currency, the euro was intended to symbolise a shared destiny— a new era of unity, stability and growth. A promise never to return to the horrors of it’s past.

It was sold as a time of great unity for Europe.

For many A time of hope and excitement.

Waning collective memory and The Splintering of society

But that was then and this is now.

Culture has shifted. The generation that bore the scars of war is fading into history.

With fewer personal memories of this terror, the weight of the sacrifices once made for peace is all but gone.

The fickle fallacy of fading affect bias means that we forget memories of negative emotions very quickly.

Our brain redefines our past to leave only the positive glow of a rosy bygone era when everything was better.

As the immediacy of those experiences fade deeper questions are being raised.

• Has the EU failed?

• Did we forfeit Freedom for security?

• Was this just all an experiment gone wrong?

• Was the dream of the EU a cover for something more nefarious?

• Are we witnessing the death throes of European sovereign nation states?

"I want to see Europe succeed, but I do not want to see Europe undermine the independence of our nations.”

Margaret Thatcher

The idealistic drive that once fueled European integration now contends with a society that seems increasingly indifferent to the lessons of its past.

Throughout history there is one recurring theme. The drive to feel secure, the need for stability and certainty coupled with the desire for freedom.

But you cannot have both. To have freedom is to have instability and uncertainty. It is always a trade off.

The quest for security always comes at the expense of personal freedom.

This exchange—trading liberty for the illusion of safety—mirrors a broader societal trend where centralized power, once justified as a means of collective defense, now appears as an encroachment on individual autonomy.

The Retreat from Globalism

This is anecdotal but right now I see a growing anti globalist sentiment in Europe. Globalism has improved many areas of life.

It’s made things ultra convenient, instantly available and seemly simplified complex problems but something has been killed in the process, something that for many is ultimately more valuable than instant gratification.

Maybe you fell it too?

You see this throughout Europe and the UK, maybe in other parts of the world as well.

There is a growing movement towards localism—a desire to reconnect with one’s immediate community.

The push to “support local” and "buy regional” have made these slogans almost become rallying cries against the impersonal forces of globalization.

"The European Union is a dictatorship of bureaucrats that is imposed on the people."

Marine Le Pen

There is a growing distrust of the current system.

Parallel concepts, systems and organisations such as the blockchain, bitcoin, network states, which just 10 years ago were seen as fringe have gained a lot of traction.

Digital algorithms, instead of uniting us, are fragmenting our social interactions into smaller, more insular communities.

This trend is reflected in political movements across Europe: like Brexit, the push for Catalan independence, the resurgence of Scottish nationalism, and countless other examples of regions seeking to reclaim control over their own destinies.

This is partly what is driving this rise in popularism and resurgence in national identity throughout Europe.

If you demonise national identity or religion where does that leave Europe?

Isn’t Christianity built into the identity of Europe?

Isn’t militaristic dominance and imperialistic expansion at least a small part of it?

What does it mean to be European without this?

"Europe will be built through crises, and it will be the sum of the solutions adopted for those crises.”

Jean Monnet

Values such as freedom and democracy are worthless if they are not backed up by something tangible.

If freedom is a concept which is not implemented, respected or defended then it is just that. A theoretical concept

And so we come to the crux of the matter

There is a jarring clash of world views when it comes to the EU. Not just political but generational and cultural.

For many, it remains a beacon of hope—a project born from the desire to prevent further bloodshed and to create a stable, prosperous future.

The idea that economic interdependence and shared governance can ensure peace is a legacy of a postwar generation that believed deeply in the power of collective action.

In this narrative, the EU is a safeguard against the recurrence of the catastrophic conflicts that once devastated the continent.

Yet, Critics argue that the EU, rather than being a sanctuary for peace, is part of a larger, globalist agenda designed to erode national sovereignty bit by bit and replace it with an allegiance to a greater centralised power.

"The European Union has become a technocratic system in which the people have lost their voice.”

Jürgen Habermas

The centralisation of power in distant bureaucracies under the guise of security and stability leads to a greater ability of controlling an increasingly fragmented populace

Political figures and populist movements have seized upon this narrative, fueling fears that the sacrifices of national identity and personal liberty were exchanged for promises that now serve as tools of manipulation.

Regardless of what was or was not intended the eurosceptic camp is growing and gaining force with each passing year.

People feel that something is broken.

The young are not buying into what is essentially a Ponzi scheme of supporting the old in outdated and unsustainable social systems.

It is clear that things are not working

And yet there are no clear answers. No clear solutions

Without a clear identity or narrative to latch on to these are dangerous times.

Whoever can create a compelling story has the potential to galvanise massive swathes of the population…and we see the potential for history to repeat itself.

The Pendulum swing

The story of Europe is not one of unending harmony but of a perpetual oscillation between unity and disintegration.

It is easy to forget that peace is the exception, not the rule.

The postwar period witnessed an extraordinary commitment to collective security, yet a glance at history shows that we just can’t enjoy peace, societies inevitably revert to fragmentation when faced with new challenges.

Political polarisation, economic inequality, and a crisis of identity all undermine the ideals that modern Europe was founded upon.

People increasingly find themselves isolated—emotionally, socially, and even politically.

With traditional sources of community such as religion and national identity in decline, alternative forms of identity politics have emerged.

Navigating a Fragmented Future

It was by all accounts an ambitious project. The idea that different people can look past their differences and focus on what unites them seems naive and foolish today. But in the post war period it was necessary and very much within reach.

Today we are witnessing a profound splintering at every level—personal, national, and international.

The globalist dream that once promised stability now struggles under the weight of individual disconnection and the reassertion of local identities.

Sometimes I mourn by naive childhood understanding of Europe - the continent.

When all I would think about where stunning landscapes, exotic food and foreign languages but it’s so much more complex than that.

I love Europe. Having lived in several other countries There is no where else on earth I would rather be and yet I know that stathis is not natural.

Change is constant, evolution is necessary, to fight it is to fundamentally misunderstand the laws of nature.

I don’t have any answers here.

I just have questions.

What does Europe mean to you?

Are European ideals worth fighting for?

Is fragmentation inevitable and should unity even be the goal?

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