Quote, unquote: Is the European idea empty?

Europe has lately come to seem like a well-furnished, slightly faded café; where the service isn’t so bad and from which, weather permitting, one can admire the passing flow. From time to time, Europeans complain about some minor, anomalous alteration to the decor, but generally we’re contented, even as we voice under our collective breath the words of Napoleon’s mother: “Pourvu que ça dure” (“Let’s just hope it lasts”). Knowing that nothing so pleasant can endure, we sit back and hope for the best, offering a minimalist response even when the world comes unglued.

-- from a feature in the current issue of The Walrus by Nick Fraser, an interesting perspective on the ongoing experiment that is the European Union.