In his talk, Javier Solana, the former Secretary of the Council of the European Union, summarized the challenges the EU faces today. His one-size-fits-all solution repeated the classic Brussels mantra: ‘More Europe, more integration.’ Later on, during question time, a journalist from the Spanish public radio requested a statement from Solana. She could have asked him about European affairs, but the journalist was more interested in his opinion on the elections in Catalonia, a region of Spain.

The case illustrates the current state of the European project: no matter how hard some people work to achieve the strongest possible union, the media, reflecting public opinion, remains preoccupied with national issues. In bars, people discuss Rajoy, Cameron or Merkel, but not Juncker; indeed, most of us could not even recognize Juncker if shown a picture of him. Societies that vote as nation states generate politicians who behave accordingly.

Okay. I must confess that, for some time, I was drawn to some of the so-called ‘Eurosceptic’ politicians. However after having seen that all of them, regardless of their ideology, ended up flirting with Putin, I came to the conclusion that the EU, despite its major flaws, is a bulwark against authoritarianism.

This is perhaps why Mr Solana devoted so much time to discussing China, Viktor Orban and Islamic theocracies such as the Islamic State. When it comes to defining a new and blurry concept, we are inclined to start by pointing to its antithesis. And the antithesis of our ‘European spirit’ is an authoritarian regime of any sort.

That said, there is still a lot to do. I wonder if Europeanism can quench the protectionist thirst Solana manifested when he spoke of such things as the supposed ‘cyberspace (business) war’ between Europe and the United States. The role of politics is not motivating entepreneurship or getting involved in corporate battles but creating clear, reliable institutions managed by recognizable people.

The day that taxi drivers criticize Juncker or Barroso with the same passion as they do for their own national politicians, and when journalists feel inclined to ask Mr Solana about European issues, we will have taken a giant step towards true European integration.