How the Migration Wave Challenges European Identity

Abstract

For extended periods, the European integration project was an unquestioned success story, delivering advances such as the tariff union, the internal market, the single currency, and an ever-increasing number of Member States. European integration now seems to have come to a stalemate, or is even on a retreat, as demonstrated by the British exit vote and the lack of solidarity to jointly handle the immigration problem, fueled by untamed nationalism and populism. The following overview investigates the threat migration and national populism means for the evolving European identity and proposes policies to avert further damage to the European integration project.