“We have made Italy, now we must make Italians.” So said Massimo d’Azeglio, an Italian intellectual, just after his country’s unification in 1861. The current generation of EU politicians face a modern version of the d’Azeglio dilemma: They have made a European Union, now they must make Europeans.
The construction of a group identity typically takes generations. But Europe’s politicians no longer have the luxury of time. Unless they can persuade the 500m or so citizens of the EU to feel more attachment to Europe and less to their nations, they may be unable to take the necessary steps to save the euro.
Most analysts reckon that, to survive, the euro will have to be backed by a much bigger European federal budget, common debt (eurobonds) and a more powerful central government. These things do not have to emerge immediately, but the direction of travel needs to be established soon. However, the popular backing for such steps is nowhere to be seen. German taxpayers balk at the idea of larger transfers of money to southern Europe. Greek and Spanish voters do not seem remotely ready to see their countries’ budgets made in Brussels. The European identity needed to make “Europe” work is not strong enough. But without it the EU looks like a building with shallow foundations, trying to withstand a political and economic earthquake.