The efficiencies of a continental advertising campaign, particularly for non-European products, mean a search for common symbols, sentiments and characters. Brands construct Europe faster than politics. Brands are Europeanizing, and so is the public. We make it simple, human, with universal ideas. Complexity travels badly.
Complexity travels badly.
This should be the cautionary phrase for any European, particularly one from a small country, concerned about the engulfing powers of a continental culture. They can be governed from afar by common political, judicial and economic institutions that are, of course, unintrusive. Neither a historian nor a bookie would find this a likely combination. Europe could be the testing ground for new and probably multiple forms of political accountability. The Spanish and Italians alone are responsible for more than three-quarters of the olive oil consumed in Europe.