Story highlights Right-wing extremism has been growing in Europe

Brexit is the tip of the iceberg

Andrea Mammone Historian at Royal Holloway, University of London, writing and commenting on Europeam politics and the far right. The opinions in this article belong to the author. Follow @Andrea_Mammone on Twitter.

(CNN) In the early 2000s, European intellectuals such as Jurgen Habermas engaged in discussions on the common identity of Europeans and the structure and rationale of the European Union.

The famous German philosopher, a main advocate of a shared Europeanism, suggested, for example, the need for "harmonisation," "cosmopolitanism," and a "civic solidarity." He argued that only when Swedes and Portuguese stand up for each other "could they be expected to support a roughly equivalent minimum wage, or the general equality of conditions for pursuing individual life projects, even if they remain shaped by national belonging."

How much of this is relevant today? On June 23, an independence day for many, Great Britain became the first EU member state to withdraw from the Union. This represents for some the beginning of the end of a European community born out of the war. Although I do not share such a pessimistic view, this, in many ways, is a triumph of national interests over common projects, solidarity and rationality.

The UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd's proposed restrictions on foreign students and the stigmatization of British companies hiring too many overseas workers and professionals go exactly in such direction. It also represents an evident legitimization of xenophobia.

This raises many questions. What will be the future of British universities deprived the fees of many foreigners? And what about the dynamism and attractiveness of a global, business-friendly city such as London?

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