1/ A thread on this thoughtful, bold and thought-provoking piece by ⁦ @MartinSandbu⁩ about the meaning of pro-Europeanism and the essence of European identity. For me, the former came without thinking about it, courtesy of French school curriculum. https://on.ft.com/3tVzpaL 

2/But the latter felt theoretical and much less real than my French or Parisian identity, until I went to work at the IMF. There, I discovered that to my colleagues from other continents I was above all a European.

3. Traveling through their countries, getting to know their cultures, I came to share their view more and more. A respected academic from North Asia once told me “economic integration is a lot easier for you Europeans, since you all speak the same language”.

4. He knew it was oversimplification but felt it more right than wrong. So what is this European identity that is so obvious to non Europeans and less so within its borders? Martin Sandbu’s definition is beautiful but, I fear, largely aspirational. Many foreigners might add

5. less flattering attributes: Europeans are risk-averse, undynamic, living enjoyable lives in an open-air museum.
And next to nothing is done to give European identify features that citizens could carry not just in their heads but also in their hearts: poets, novelists,

6. artists of all kinds, great statesmen and scientists, monuments, etc. These remain primarily learned on a national basis, and € banknotes have stylized bridges on them. So there is a long way to go to turn European identity into actual consciousness. Would be good to start./.