Putin’s war is a disaster for Russia

Europhobes will never have a better argument against European integration than the seat of the European parliament in Strasbourg. It’s not just the €200 million per year it costs to move MEPs to and from Brussels once a month at great inconvenience to everyone; the building itself is a disgrace. It feels like a prison: identical glass corridors look out over a useless inner courtyard, so you can go on walks without the danger of escape. The former president of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso once suggested turning the building into the headquarters of the European Institute of Technology, which was an excellent offer both for the country and the city, but to no avail. In fact, though, the location made more sense to me once I visited Strasbourg’s archaeological museum. Argentoratum, as the Romans called it, began as a military outpost which guarded the Rhine for centuries.