The crises in the Eurozone and Ukraine have heralded the ‘return of politics’ to European integration

European integration has often been conceived of as a primarily technocratic project, aimed at realising broad mutually beneficial aims which are beyond the narrow interests existing at the level of national politics. Luuk van Middelaar writes that both the Eurozone crisis and the crisis in Ukraine have illustrated the flaws in this perspective and highlighted the fundamentally political nature of the European Union.

He emphasises that this politicisation of the integration process should not be viewed as European politicians slipping into the old habits of the past, but rather as the only realistic way to preserve Europe’s unity and liberty for the future.