There was this interview (mp3) with Wim Wenders on the 11th Hour on RTE on Monday this week. Basically what it covers is why his European identity was so important. For him, Europe is not just an economic entity, and I think that casting Europe in citizens’ minds as a social, cultural entity of vast diversity is important to the success of the European project, and the future of everyone living in Europe. He talks about Ireland being at the cultural heart of Europe, although maybe he is flattering the interviewer a little. I think the cultural aspects of Europe will soon be as important as the legal and economic work that is been done.

At the same time, there is a lot of work to be done on the institutions. They have to be very democratic and reasonably efficient. At the moment, they are totally undemocratic and mostly inefficient . Improving democracy can and should be done in tandem with making the institutions more efficient.