I&#x27;m not terribly interested in the views of a billionaire investor on the EU.
I have to say though that I searched for the original interview in Wirtschaftswoche and Handelsblatt Online. And I did not find words as strong as &quot;on the verge of a collapse&quot;. Those articles read &quot;on the future of the EU [he] is pessimistic&quot;<p>All the same the Schengen treaty is at risk with the current flood of immigrants. [1]<p>As far as the EU goes: I&#x27;m a Dutch citizen. And the NL have a long history of belonging to a coöperation of nations. Just after WWII it founed the BeNeLux. And it was a founding member of the EU later on. 
So I lived in a supra-national organisation for as long as I live. And I have to say that when I work here in the NL with people from France, Spain, Italy, Germany, ... I truly feel that we&#x27;re all Europeans. It&#x27;s some feeling of shared fate, shared history, shared culture, speaking their languages, intuïtively knowing their characteristic strengths and foibles. 
So as far as I&#x27;m concerned even if the current EU would fail we&#x27;ll just start anew with an EU 2.0. 
Less expansionist and less idealistic probably. Sadder and wiser surely. 
But in my estimation the sense of a shared EU identity has become stronger than even the current vicissitudes or the meddling from billionaire investors.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theguardian.com&#x2F;world&#x2F;2016&#x2F;jan&#x2F;21&#x2F;dutch-pm-says-refugee-crisis-could-shut-down-europes-open-borders-for-good" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.theguardian.com&#x2F;world&#x2F;2016&#x2F;jan&#x2F;21&#x2F;dutch-pm-says-r...</a>