European Union as a labyrinth of ideologies

One just has to look at the composition of the party groups in the European Parliament to realize that the European Union is characterized by a wide range of political parties and movements. These include the European People’s Party (EPP) which traces back its roots to Europe’s founding fathers—Robert Schuman, Alcide de Gasperi, and Konrad Adenauer—and the Socialist and Democrats who have aim of establishing a European Pillar of Social Rights. The ideologies of the European Union go from the liberal and pro Europe Renew Europe to Identity and Democracy which is composed of nationalist, right-wing populist and Eurosceptic national parties and, of course, one should not forget the Greens and the leftwing political movements. This entry will examine the political ideologies of the European Union both from a diachronic and synchronic perspective and reflect on how the changing political currents have facilitated or hindered the movement towards European Unity.