Forget the far right. The kids want a ‘United States of Europe.’ - POLITICO

“I limit potential membership to countries that have a Latin-European model of social life... only a Civilisationally homogeneous state has the right to function stably,” said the user of an account named Sacrum Imperium, a 30-year-old law student whom I agreed not to identify by name because they said expressing political views in public could be detrimental to their career. The user also voiced skepticism about Brussels, advocating limited competences for EU institutions. “The optimal division of competences... should provide for tasks at European level only those that are necessary and cannot be carried out at national level,” they added. Europe or bust For de Weck, the point is not that these young Europeans don’t see eye to eye, but that their frame of reference is Europe - not the domestic political debate of France, Germany or any other EU member country. This marks a profound shift compared to 2016, when Britain’s vote to leave the European Union was widely seen as heralding other EU exits, and euroskeptic politicians ranging from France’s Marine Le Pen to Austria’s Sebastian Kurk and the Netherlands’ Geert Wilders dominated headlines. Indeed, a big factor linking pro-Europe online users is their youth. With all reporting their age as under 35, these Europeans may or may not have witnessed the last big surge of euro-idealism around the turn of the century, when the euro currency was introduced in several countries and the overtly pro-EU movie “The Spanish Apartment” ( L’Auberge Espagnole” originally) promoted Europe’s Erasmus student program as an ideal way to find love. But they have all been through what came after this period of optimism: terrorism, a surge in migration, the rise of far-right parties across Europe and, more recently, Russia’s aggressive expansionism and the collapse of a U.S.-led post-World War II order. A giant EU flag is unfurled during Europe Day celebrations in Milan in May. | Emanuele Cremaschi/Getty Images Such upheavals, combined with other problems - like grinding economic decline and an ageing population - have painted Europe as a victim, or at least a losing party, in the minds of many youths. It’s a feeling that these people are rebelling against - and one that may well fuel the rise of a new generation of much more Europe-minded, if not overtly federalist, politicians in coming years. For now, it’s still populists and their favorite rivals, centrists such as France’s Macron, who continue to occupy headlines. In the past decade hard-right leaders have won elections, becoming prime ministers in Austria and Italy, or political kingmakers, as was the case with Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders in 2023. The prime minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, has been in power since 2010, positioning himself as an arch-opponent of Brussels-based EU institutions. But the reality is that, unlike in 2016 when Europe feared a wave of Brexit-style “-exits,” none of these leaders now advocates pulling their country out of the bloc. In a recent chat with POLITICO, Orbán’s political director said that despite virulent criticism...

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