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In the eyes of pro-Europeans, the founding of the EU after WWII secured peace across the continent for decades. It cemented a lasting friendship between France and Germany, brought freedom to Greece and Spain and later on introduced the free market to Eastern Bloc countries which had been suffering under totalitarian rule. Today, EU citizens are able to live, work and travel across the continent without hindrance, while the European single market remains the world’s largest free trading bloc. The European project may not be perfect, but it has brought its citizens together and fostered prosperity.

That’s the view of the starry-eyed Europhiles. But one needn’t look further than Brexit to see that the EU is teetering on the edge. Who knows which country will be next to leave? If Macron’s presidency fails, Marine Le Pen could be well-placed to win in 2022 and fulfil her promise to drag France out of Europe. And that’s not to mention Brussels’ shambolic response to the refugee and Eurozone crises, and its failure to tackle the crisis of the rule of law in Eastern Europe. The EU is bureaucratic, elitist and undemocratic, and is now reaping the whirlwind of populism and discontent.

By showing itself blind to the concerns of ordinary people and incapable of reform, has the European Union failed its citizens? Or does Macron’s victory mean we should ignore the doomsayers and march ahead with more European integration?

Intelligence Squared presented its inaugural event in Berlin on 4th July with a fascinating discussion of the European project and its future.