Return of History or Anti-liberal Revolution

The European Union, a unique entity on the global scene, is at a crossroads. The original blueprint to create a supranational entity is broken, under the pressure of the constitutional crisis (2005) and later the economic and financial one (the spectre of Grexit). The process sped up in 2014, when external security appeared on the agenda, followed by an unprecedented migrant wave coming to the EU in 2015. As a result, former Euroenthusiasm has been replaced by Euroskeptic forces, mostly of populist or nationalist nature, which was strongly confi rmed by the British Brexit vote in June 2016. Those accumulated crises brought about many new division lines within the EU, well defined in this study – of political, economic, social, and even religious or cultural nature. The liberal mainstream, which has been dominant until recently, is retreating, while ‘illiberal democracy’, however it is understood, or even authoritarian solutions, are starting to flourish. This is an extraordinary era when the entire project of European integration is at stake. Time to react and sacrifice a lot to save it, if we do not want to retreat under the new challenges surrounding us. According to the author, the EU can be saved, even if it will be different than before.