A quote from Pascal Bruckner in the (leftist) Parisian newspaper Le Monde, 16 July 2005

Obviously Europe does not want to exist. At least its Western part, with the notable exception of the United Kingdom. […] Perhaps the reawakening of Europe will come from those peoples in the east, who have long been colonised and who know what liberty really means, those small nations with unpronounceable names. Perhaps it is time for America to launch a new Marshall plan to boost our morale, show us how to have self-respect and teach us to become proud nations once more? We will have to submit to a complete mental turnaround.