Learning from the mistakes of the past: policy recommendations for a divided European Union to avert decline

What has led to the growing disillusionment with the European project? What have we learned from the process of Europeanisation, and can these lessons guide us in the present? To answer these questions, the article offers a long-term view of the diverging trajectories of Central and Peripheral European countries in terms of interdependent economies with different productive capacities. It briefly traces the evolution of the European Union, from the founding fathers’ vision of a federation of states to the acrimonious economic union of divided governments and peoples. Looking back at moments of crisis, we try to understand where we went wrong and explore the possibility that the current difficult times and the disintegration of the international order may foster the recovery of the original idea of Europe.