Pauls Raudseps on different feelings about Europe

Latvian journalist Pauls Raudseps says that despite last weekend's EU anniversary celebrations there is no sense of EU patriotism among citizens. "The EU is a project that is difficult to love in the same way you love your home country or your home town. Each country has its own feelings about Europe. If you ask the Spanish, the first thing that comes to mind when they think of the EU is democracy, because the EU helped them to overcome the consequences of Franco's dictatorship. The Germans and the British tend to associate the EU with red tape, but not the Italians - in comparison to their own authorities Brussels seems remarkably efficient and transparent. EU citizens are certainly doing the EU an injustice by failing to appreciate the great benefits such as increased prosperity and peace it has brought them.

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