What Happened to the European Dream?
As the European Union faces multiple crises – from immigration to the possibility of Britain leaving – what was the project's founding vision? And does it survive today?
In June, the UK will vote on whether to become the first country ever to leave the European Union. Anti-EU political parties are on the rise across the continent. In April, the Dutch people rejected an EU agreement with Ukraine. Even the president of the European Commission admits that "the European project has lost parts of its attractiveness".
But what is that project? And has it lost its shine? The Inquiry goes in search of the vision that inspired the EU’s founders and - with expert witnesses from Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany - asks: what happened to the European dream?
(Photo: French Minister of Foreign Affairs Robert Schuman signs the official treaty of the Schuman Plan in 1951, which created the European Coal and Steel Community. Credit: Getty Images)
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More than just a market
Duration: 01:30
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Car parts and cucumbers
Duration: 01:38
Broadcasts
- Tue 3 May 201601:06GMTBBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean
- Tue 3 May 201602:06GMTBBC World Service Online & UK DAB/Freeview only
- Tue 3 May 201603:06GMTBBC World Service East Asia
- Tue 3 May 201604:06GMTBBC World Service Australasia & South Asia only
- Tue 3 May 201606:06GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa
- Tue 3 May 201614:06GMTBBC World Service except News Internet
- Tue 3 May 201621:06GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & News Internet
- Sun 8 May 201602:06GMTBBC World Service Australasia & South Asia only
- Sun 8 May 201604:06GMTBBC World Service except Australasia, News Internet & South Asia
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The Inquiry
The Inquiry explores the trends, forces and ideas shaping the world
