The founding fathers of Europe can look back with satisfaction. Few believed in Schuman and Monnet’s plan. Getting the legendary warriors around the table or, more importantly, bringing their interests together in one organization seemed like a mission impossible. And yet it worked. Gone are the days when Germany and France were on the warpath every 20 or 30 years. And that is what it was all about in the end.

But does that success still appeal to young people? For Generation Z, war is something out of history books or in regions far away from Europe. Even the Ukraine conflict has not changed that mindset. The slogan ‘no more war’sounds hollow. Former combatants and ex-prisoners of concentration camps who can bring history to life with their testimonies are almost non-existent. The books by Anne Frank, Primo Levi or Jorge Sempr u n are stories from the past, from the old days. Moving, yes, but long gone. Cyberattacks and hackers appeal more to the imagination than trenches.

And would the founding fathers be happy to see the army of Eurocrats, empty plenary sessions and the travelling theatre from Brussels to Strasbourg? Would the founding fathers be happy if they were to see that Europe is absent in areas of paramount importance for citizens, such as migration policy? Would they be happy if they found that a coordinated approach to border controls in the fight against COVID-19 proved impossible? Would they be happy to see that the British people expressed their wish to leave the Union?

To answer these questions, we briefly look at the basic idea of Europe and analyse how this beautiful idea has developed, resulting in a Europe that has lost its connection with Europeans. In an analogy to Willem Elsschot’s marriage, we can say that for Europe, too, laws stand between dream and deed and practical objections arise. The marriage between Europe and its citizens, like most marriages, is therefore a bumpy road.

1. FROM GENESIS TO BREXIT

1.1. NO MORE WAR

23 June 2016: thunderclap from a clear sky. In a referendum, 51% of Britons are in favour of Brexit.