The EU is facing a critical moment in its history. The sustained growth of Euroskeptic and populist parties, the recent economic and financial crisis with its corollary of austerity, the never-ending soap opera of Brexit, the increase in terrorist attacks by Islamist radicals and far-right activists, the deaths of refugees in the Mediterranean, and the abandonment and repression of migrants in the north of Paris or in Calais, are only some of the critical issues challenging the EU. These problems are partly a consequence of EU politics and policies. They are also, in one way or another, all connected. More fundamentally, several of these problems challenge the very founding principles of the European project.

Europe's crisis of hospitality and solidarity

Traumatized by the horrors of World War II, the founders of the EU first aspired to lay the foundations for lasting peace. In this respect, their project has been incredibly successful. Europe has never enjoyed such a long period without wars (one could point out the wars that followed the collapse of the former Yugoslavia, but they were not within the borders of the EU). However, several other founding aspirations of the EU have not enjoyed such fortune. Article 1 of the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights states that human dignity is inviolable and must be respected and protected. The following articles go on to celebrate the right to life, the protection of human integrity, and the prohibition of degrading treatments. Similarly, the digital portal of the EU asserts that “The EU protects all minorities and vulnerable groups, and stands up for the oppressed. Regardless of a person's nationality, gender, language group, culture, profession, disability or sexuality, the EU insists on equal treatment for all.” Such noble principles are allegedly at the core of European values: “the EU values are common to the EU countries in a society in which inclusion, tolerance, justice, solidarity and non-discrimination prevail. These values are an integral part of our European way of life.”

These declarations sound great and should give rise to humane policies. But according to the Missing Migrants Project, between 2014 and 2018 about 18,000 refugees died in the Mediterranean.