Abstract

The decision of the British people to leave the EU was a political earthquake. A seemingly never-ending round of challenges – from the migration crisis, to continuing terror threats and the euro’s woes – has left the EU in a crisis of confidence. The consequent rise in nationalism and populism has too often seemed to leave the continent’s existing generation of leaders floundering.

But there is hope. A new generation of European leaders is rising to political seniority. Behind them is a new generation of European voters, less beholden to the past. They are ‘Generation Europe’. Shaped in an age of smartphones, low-cost travel and cross-country initiatives like the Erasmus programme, they share a different perspective.

In a passionately argued mix of personal story and policy prescriptions, one of the leading members of ‘Generation Europe’, Italy’s centre-left Europe minister, Sandro Gozi, takes us on a journey through the challenges his continent faces. Exploring causes and solutions, he reflects on his cohort’s commitment to building cross-border policies that will address common problems and start to give Europe brighter prospects.
Sandro Gozi is Europe Minister (Secretary of State for European Affairs in the office of the Prime Minister) in Italy’s centre-left government. He has served as an MP since 2006.