Ukrainian students hold an EU flag in Kyiv. SergeiChuzakov/PA images. All rights reserved.
Some twenty five years ago, many in the disintegrating Yugoslavia clung to the idea of ‘Europe as saviour’; paralleled by the Union’s own proclamation that it was indeed the ‘hour of Europe’. Today, those fleeing war and persecution in the Middle East and elsewhere, or those in Ukraine seeking closer ties with the EU, are similarly-minded.
For many, however, the continent has become a ‘Europe of sorrow’; a source of despondency, frustrated hopes and shattered dreams. Far from supporting the EU’s break-up, however, many eurosceptics seek its reform. If the Democracy in Europe Movement 2025 (DiEM25) is to become a successful pan-European movement, then it is vital that such voices - including those beyond the EU’s own borders - be actively mobilized to drive change, not collapse.
