“In 1980, a year after the first elections to the European Parliament, in my Gdańsk, the Solidarity movement, Solidarność, was born,” he said. There had been talk of the Polish prime minister, Beata Szydło – whose country bears a grudge against her compatriot, Tusk – causing a stir today. A “Rome declaration” affirming the 27’s allegiance had been reworded to acknowledge the concerns of east European states about a proposed “multi-speed Europe”, in which some states cooperate more intensely than others. The Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, appeared to offer a little shrug as he put pen to paper. You have to think counterfactually: what would happen if it was not for the European union?

Source: The Guardian March 25, 2017 19:00 UTC