The “utopian” idea of a Europe without nation-states has failed and the “spectre of a break-up” is now haunting the continent, the President of the European Council has admitted. Donald Tusk said that Eurocrats had “failed to notice” their ideals were not shared by the vast majority of European peoples and only served to fuel the rise of Euroscepticism across the continent. Addressing the European People’s Party, Mr Tusk said: “Obsessed with the idea of instant and total integration, we failed to notice that ordinary people, the citizens of Europe do not share our Euro-enthusiasm. “Disillusioned with the great visions of the future, they demand that we cope with the present reality better than we have been doing until now.” Instead, he added, movements are rising up across the continent to oppose further integration. “Today, Euro-scepticism, or even Euro-pessimism have become an alternative to those illusions. “And increasingly louder are those who question the very principle of a united Europe.” The result is that there is now a real possibility of the European Union fragmenting as citizens become increasingly resentful of centralised power. “The spectre of a break-up is haunting Europe and a vision of a federation doesn’t seem to