The recent European elections have clearly demonstrated that (too) many people have lost faith in Europe and its politicians. They do no longer trust their ability to make things better. But, is Europe’s decline really irreversible?
Despite (or maybe rather because) of its unique achievements, the very essence of a European Union is being undermined by populist, revisionist and nationalist forces, including the dismissal of notions such as a 'European identity’, and a ‘collective European memory’. Yet the commonality of experience, past and present, is at the very core of the European project. How can we restore European memory and can it still be a driving force behind the European Union?
Are the EU-institutions and the Member States ready to continue and strengthen the integration process, will they try harder to reach out to citizens and re-involve them in the project, which has given them more than 60 years of peace and relative prosperity? Or will European countries return to their nationalist end egoistic past with all the consequences? And, what about Germany? Embedded in the European Union, the reunited country has become the most powerful, stable and wealthy European state. It owes the European project its success, but is it ready to play a leading role in the further integration process?
Young Voices from Germany, Greece, Italy and Portugal on the Situation Youth in Their Home Countries, the European Elections and What They Expect from the European Union.
The year 2014 provides a good opportunity to look back on the history of Greece and Portugal from a European perspective and to look forward to both countries‘ future.
This paper will argue that in a rapidly changing world with often threatened, weak or non-existing democracies, Political Foundations fill a gap between public policies, globalized markets and civil society efforts by offering services which transcend the borders between states and between public and private actors.
