Jean-Claude Juncker is an European of the old school, and some critics have associated him with the Europe of the 1980s and 1990s. Although he is a conservative, he embraces socialist values. In this commentary he calls Europe "the love of life. This brave continent", and this "noble people". He is determined to "live up to that reputation" that Europe is a "place perceived worldwide as being safe and just". When he says, "we will show our resilience", he has to know whether he really has everybody on board. For the moment, it doesn't seem so.

The author's main theme is "European solidarity", which he sees as "severely tested" throughout the Greek bailout and the refugee crises last year. Thanks to contentious months of negotiations between Greece and its creditors, it received its third bailout in five years. Juncker claims: "European solidarity prevailed, and trust has started to recover." That Greece remains in the Eurozone didn't come as a surprise. He was passionate in defending the single currency which he described as an "affair of the heart".

In the face of the massive influx of migrants in recent months, the crisis has put intense strain on the EU's principle of free movement, with some states building fences or reintroducing border controls . Yet Juncker will have none of it. He said Europe had only one border and the Schengen zone was "here to stay". He insisted member states all shared a responsibility to protect its external border.

As a strong advocate of a European solidarity union, the author wants deeper integration, but without a European superstate. What he has discovered in recent months is that his efforts in the past to raise living standards in the poorest regions in Eastern Europe had not been met with the same response of solidarity. Europe seems to have split into the “compassionate” west and “selfish” east. Although Brussels has ingratiated itself with Ankara to stem the flow of migrants, efforts are being made to police the Mediterranean, and "a new partnership with Africa to address the root causes of migration" had been formed, it will take years to see the results. Meanwhile the influx has not decreased in numbers.

Greece and Turkey complain about the lack of financial and human resources to effectively "identify, screen and fingerprint incoming migrants, speed up the processing of asylum-seekers, and coordinate the return of those who do not qualify." Only time can tell whether Juncker's prayer "Europe must prevail" will be heard.

Critics say Europe is facing insurmountable challenges - economically and culturally - in absorbing millions of migrants from outside the continent. It is true that "European integration is a multifaceted and often complicated affair". Juncker is optimistic that it would work, even if "we do not always get it right the first time". It is wishful thinking that "collectively, we are stronger than the challenges that confront us. Together, we will unite in the face of that which seeks to divide us". Right now fear and uncertainty prevail, and people have adopted a short-term perspective.