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The Inquiry: What Happened To The European Dream?

Adriaan Schout from the Netherlands Institute of International Relations on the backlash against deepening European integration.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, European integration went through a golden era - including agreement on plans for a single currency, the euro. But that high water mark was quickly followed by a backlash. In this excerpt from The Inquiry, Adriaan Schout from the Netherlands Institute of International Relations explains why and how Europeans began to resist the accelerating growth of the "European project".

(Image: A postcard calling on people to 'Strike Back at the Empire' is displayed ahead of the Dutch referendum in 2005 that rejected the European Union Constitution. Credit: JOHN D MCHUGH/AFP/Getty Images)

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6 minutes

Last on

Wed 4 May 2016 15:23GMT

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  • Wed 4 May 2016 15:23GMT