The European project is simultaneously advancing and fraying. In recent years, the EU has responded with unity to multiple shocks, from the pandemic to the climate emergency and the war in Ukraine, reviving the adage that Europe is “forged in crises”. However, its crisis management continues to be technocratic, and the rightward shift of many member states is mirrored in an increasingly identitarian Union, entrenched in defence of its own privileges. In the context of a newly found appetite for EU enlargement and with crucial elections just months away, progressives need to outline what kind of Europe they are striving for. By examining the continent’s past and present, this edition sets out to explore possible routes towards a desirable future.