Brexit: When it comes to immigration, what “citizens of Europe” really have is a second-class status dating back to Ancient Rome — Quartz

What does being a “citizen of Europe” mean? Not as much as people might think.

The EU has conferred on Europeans the rights of citizenship without any of the obligations.

Even what it means to be “British,” despite all the steps taken since 1708, is still a work in progress. How then could we expect to all become “European” so quickly? This is Europe’s citizenship problem: There is European citizenship, but not European identity. The EU has spent all its energy focusing on the economic benefits of internal migration without trying to cultivate a feeling of belonging. And so, you get things like Brexit.

Source: Brexit: When it comes to immigration, what “citizens of Europe” really have is a second-class status dating back to Ancient Rome — Quartz