A tale of two cities: Narratives and ideas to relaunch European integration: The global context: How politics, investment, and institutions impact European businesses

This book chapter situates the EU in historical context, to understand the current crisis and legal and political problems when attempting to relaunch integration in our days. It uses two different paradigms of integration ("two cities"). The first one describes the achievements and the method and values that have presided the period between 1951 and 2000. A second paradigm is suggested to tackle the challenges and move towards a Union more politicized, engaged with the world and limited in the scope of its material powers.