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As financial turmoil in Europe preoccupies political leaders and global markets, it becomes more important than ever to understand the forces that underpin the European Union, hold it together and drive it forward. This timely book provides a gripping account of the realities of power politics among European states and between their leaders. Drawing on long experience working behind the scenes, Luuk van Middelaar captures the dynamics and tensions shaping the European Union from its origins until today. It is a story of unexpected events and twists of fate, bold vision and sheer necessity, told from the perspective of the keyplayers - from de Gaulle to Havel, Thatcher to Merkel. Van Middelaar cuts through the institutional complexity by exploring the unforeseen outcomes of decisive moments and focusing on the quest for public legitimacy. As a first-hand witness to the day-to-day actions and decisions of Europe's leaders, the author provides a vivid narrative of the crises and compromises that united a continent. By revisiting the past, he sheds fresh light on the present state of European unification and offers insights into what the future may hold

The article presents the political developments following the UK's Brexit referendum decision, arguing that the EU demonstrated a combination of frailty and firmness, resentment and determination, which were signs of a new will to live. The EU showed awareness of the need to protect itself and its citizens. The recognition that the very existence of the Union could not be taken for granted is presented in terms of a "Machiavellian moment", a concept taken from Pocock. The article argues that the main reason why this particular moment evoked a will to live that seemed lacking in earlier crises facing the Union is situated in the geopolitical needs of the Federal Republic of Germany.

AbstractA crisis can reveal characteristics of a political order which in normal times remain invisible. Two such moments of clarification hit European Union (EU) countries in quick succession. The euro crisis tested the resolve of leaders and peoples to save the single currency. The geopolitical standoff around Ukraine necessitated a joint response to a show of force. In both cases we saw a 'return of politics'. Geopolitical interests trumped economic ones; a need for government (and not just governance) made itself felt; European politics became more salient and intertwined with domestic politics. In the turmoil, notwithstanding calls for a big leap toward greater unity, the European Union also showed its dynamic in‐between nature. The public perceives this politicisation perfectly, hence both its disenchantment and the calls for more democracy. EU integration, after 'permissive consensus' and 'constraining dissensus', could be moving to the era of binding dissensus.