Recent years were a harsh lesson for Europe. In the past, further enlargements of the European Union and integration projects were the testament of it’s transformative power. European values and rules encouraged others to follow the EU’s lead, and raised aspirations among other societies that were willing to be a part of this „club”. Nowadays, it is the EU that is a subject of outside influence: the pressure from foreign powers, negative impact of globalization and migration. They change the way societies were functioning, and shape the mood of European citizens.
The stronger the processes are, the louder the calls to protect the „European lifestyle”, as the brief of a new EU commissioner states. But, thirty years after the collapse of communism and fifteen after the Eastern enlargement of the European Union, do we know what “European lifestyle” means? Is the split over values — over the meaning of Christian tradition, rule of law, multiculturalism or social model — more evident than ever since 1989? How to build a consensus on what exactly is this „European-ness” that is in danger and how can we overcome divisions? What do we need to agree on in order for the European Union to survive despite current setbacks?