For 70 years, Europe was the boldest answer to the greatest catastrophe in modern history. We turned ruins into rules, enemies into neighbours, markets into mutual commitments. We built the most ambitious project of peace, law, and shared dignity the world has ever known—not because we were without flaw or sin, but because we remembered what collapse felt like.

We believed something radical:

Today, that conviction is eroding and a new logic is spreading:

⚠️Power without principle, growth without purpose, democracy as domination, citizens reduced to consumers.
⚠️Totalitarians and billionaires flout our laws, buy our media, and capture our digital spine.
⚠️A reckless Trump openly threatens Europe—its security, its economy, its unity.
And beneath it all, a deeper crisis unfolds: the European spirit itself is unraveling.

This is no theory. It’s daily reality:

⚠️Trust in government has collapsed.
⚠️In half of Europe, fewer than half vote.
⚠️The richest 10% hold 53% of wealth.
⚠️Over 20m Europeans live in severe deprivation. Another 22m work full-time and still cannot afford a decent life.
⚠️One in 4 young people plans to leave—not just for jobs, but because they see no future here.
⚠️Only 17% of parents believe their children will live better lives.

Our crisis is not just political—it's civilisational. Power fails upward, plurality disappears, courage whithers. Hungary vetoes our values. Britain left—not out of rage, but in emptiness.

Are we still a Union of values—or just a colony of convenience?

Meanwhile:

The spirit of Europe is not nostalgia.

It’s resistance—to drift, to cynicism, to surrender.
It's the courage to bind freedom to duty, wealth to justice, power to the common good.
It’s the belief that Europe must not become a clone of empire or a playground of capital—but the conscience of the democratic world.

There are times when a continent must choose not only its future—but its soul. Europe stands again at such a crossroads. Not because it's weak, but because it risks forgetting what its strength is for.

Let us reclaim what we have been at our best: the proof that goodness can be institutionalised, that human dignity can be protected, that solidarity can triumph over selfishness.

👇 Join the conversation.

What would it take to reclaim the Spirit of Europe—before those who never believed in it succeed in tearing it apart?

#leadership #EU #Democracy #SocialAction #FutureofEurope

(Original version 2025)

For Justice, Dignity, and a Society Worth Living For!

There are times when a continent must choose not only its future—but its soul. Europe stands again at such a crossroads. Not because it's weak, but because it risks forgetting what its strength is for.

For 70 years, Europe was the boldest answer to the greatest catastrophe in modern history. We turned ruins into rules, enemies into neighbours, markets into mutual commitments. We built the most ambitious project of peace, law, and shared dignity the world has ever known—not because we were without flaw or sin, but because we remembered what collapse felt like.

We believed something radical: that society is more than market. That dignity is not a luxury. That freedom demands responsibility—and that justice belongs to us all.

Today, that conviction is eroding.

A new logic is spreading: power without principle, growth without purpose, democracy turned into domination, citizens reduced to consumers. Totalitarians and billionaires flout our laws, buy our media, and capture our digital spine. A reckless Trump openly threatens Europe—its security, its economy, its unity. And beneath it all, a deeper crisis unfolds: the slow unravelling of the European spirit itself.

This is no theory. It’s daily reality.

Trust in government has collapsed. In half of Europe, fewer than half vote. The richest 10% hold 53% of wealth. Over 20m Europeans live in severe deprivation. Another 22m work full-time and still cannot afford a decent life. One in 4 young people plans to leave—not just for jobs, but because they see no future here. Only 17% of parents believe their children will live better lives.

Our democratic deficit is not administrative—it's existential. Power fails upward, plurality disappears, courage whithers. Hungary vetoes our values. Britain left—not out of rage, but in emptiness.

Meanwhile, we sign €30bn arms deals with dictators. We import 40% of energy from regimes that burn books. We’ve allowed 1,400 independent newsrooms to disappear. 70% of our digital infrastructure is foreign-owned. Climate chaos cost us €52bn last year—yet COPs serially fail. Europe’s share of patents has fallen by 40% in a generation. And the engine of hope—social mobility—is grinding to a halt.

This isn't just a crisis of policy. It's a crisis of conviction.

The spirit of Europe is not nostalgia. It is resistance—to drift, to cynicism, to surrender. It's the courage to bind freedom to duty, wealth to justice, power to the common good. It is the belief that Europe must not become a clone of empire or a playground of capital—but the conscience of the democratic world.

We must reclaim what we have been at our best: the proof that goodness can be institutionalised, that human dignity can be protected, that solidarity can triumph over selfishness.

Let it begin here. Let it begin now.

Let us reclaim the Spirit of Europe—before those who never believed in it succeed in tearing it apart.

#leadership