i should have clarified that it’s a popular sentiment in the military of the central european powers, not necessarily in the voting population. at least it was 5-ish years back…can’t imagine it’s changed all that much.

from personal experience there seems to be a serious disconnect between the general consensus of the EU militaries and the population, largely driven by right-wing populist propaganda that usually tends towards nationalistic and isolationist messages.

when i was in service we regularly had joint exercises with pretty much all EU nations. it was entirely ordinary and generally just accepted as a matter of fact. a general sentiment of “We defend Europe together!” among the soldiers, which was excellent to experience first hand!

re: sceptisism; i think it’s mostly a sign of polarization in politics, and the sceptisism is being reported more than the corresponding rise in a shared european identity! both ends of the spectrum seem to be on the rise, thinning out the middle, as more and more people realize, that we live in a time where everyone really DOES have to pick a side.

or to sum the last part up: late stage capitalism is doing what late stage capitalism does! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯