‘So far, despite some Second World War ghosts, the will to stay together has proved stronger than the urge to move apart’From one point of view, the European Union has simply been limping from one crisis to another, while the continuing membership of some countries remains in doubt. Yet its very survival, and the desperation of countries outside to join, are indications for others of the union’s strength, and of its success in maintaining peace in our time. Some might call it the ultimate Europe conspiracy. Whenever confidence in the European Union reaches rock bottom among its citizens, something unheralded comes along to keep the dream alive. In 2012 it was the Nobel Peace Prize, which reminded a Europe still gripped by the euro crisis that half a century of peace and