Internationally renowned Dutch historian and thinker, Luuk Van Middelaar is specialized in European politics, and in particular the foundations and practices of the European Union and its institutions, which is one of the courses he teaches at Leiden University (the Netherlands). From December 2009 to 2014, he was a member of the cabinet of Herman Van Rompuy, the first full-time President of the European Council. Combining politics and Europe, his two best-known publications are his thesis, published under the title Politicide, and his book The Passage to Europe, translated into almost every European language and tackling themes perfectly in tune with the proposed debate, such as European unity or the European entity/identity.