It is amazing to watch the European Union gradually fall apart less than a generation after Maastricht, where it took its present shape. Back then, there was hardly any democracy to the project. Now that democracy is gradually squeezed into it, the winning parties are working toward the breakup of the Union. The European Parliament is already crammed with them. And so-called eurosceptic parties are mushrooming across the subcontinent. The leading ones are in major countries, such as France and the United Kingdom, which itself faces a breakup later this year. Slowly but surely, the likes of Marine Le Pen, Nigel Farage, and Geert Wilders will pick the Union apart until it becomes a political mirage of sorts. In a way, they are all working for Germany, where Bernd Lucke is building yet another eurosceptic party. In only a few years, no-one interested in Europe will think of the Union. Or Brussels, its vaunted seat. Everyone will go straight to Berlin. And the German elections will become the most important democratic event in Europe. The last act of the European Parliament will be its own suicide. Sorry, dissolution.

Addendum (May 27, 2014)

In the wake of the parliamentary elections, The Economist has come up with a clever name for the Union: The Eurosceptic Union. And that is what it actually is. If anything brings Europeans together at this stage, it is the revolt of being brought together against their will. And that is what Maastricht was about, at any rate. An idea of the few for the few. Back then, I was among the latter few, I must admit, but things have changed in the meanwhile. The best Europe can aspire to is a common market, which is yet to take its proper shape. And this is where the Eurosceptic Union can actually be a good thing, too. The rest is a pipedream.