A bit unintentionally but definitely yes - this is an Eurosceptic blog. The European idea wears especially thin when one compares it to the ethos of the American idea - as documented by The Declaration of Independence or The Federalist Papers, for example. Hardly anyone can seriously deny that the benfits the EU members hope to reap from the alliance are mainly economical. When the idea of an "European citizen" appeared in public discussion (triggered by the outrageous process by which the "d'Estaign Commission" stiched together the EU Constitutional proposal in less than a year), it became clear that there is no single common characteristic which would justify such a concept. The Union is an economic and common trade alliance - it was created as one and intended as one. It should stay that way.

We returned from Spain recently with my wife. I went for a business trip nearby Segovia for two days and then we travelled East to Valencia and spent some time just travelling around and lying on the beach. It was very slow, relaxing and very wonderful. However, I was amazed to see that not many Spaniards seemed to be keen on "integrating" themselves. Barely anyone spoke English (even though I'm sure many spoke French). Their daily rhythms were not unknown to me, but were quite difficult to cope with. Tourist information in Valencia was available in "Castellano" (the kind of Spanish spoken around Madrid, for example) and Catalan language, and French and some other language - but definitely not a minor puzzler.

In Spain I realized how readily people in Czechia embrace the one-size-fits-all pan-European soup, how ardently the Czech media replicate this meme.