Abstract
Regional integration is a process whereby states enter into a regional agreement in order to enhance regional cooperation through regional institutions and rules. The European Union is an example of regional integration that we are going to focus on. The project of the European Union, whereby this ancient "collection of nation-states" become "an integrated polity" (according to S. Fabbrini), is based on the idea that there can be a feeling of belonging and of identification of the European people, beyond the national identity, and that it is not incompatible with it. At the same time, there are many debates around the idea that this identity and the feeling that Europeans are also European citizens are not present enough. Through literature and philosophy, the idea have been developed for a long time, that there is a European substance that forged itself through history which could exist even in times of war. The diversity of the different states constituting the European Union shows how resonant and efficient nationalism can be.
