“A crisis does not fall from the sky; political crises are not unforeseeable natural catastrophes, which one stands helpless in the face of. They build gradually, accumulating explosive power piece by piece, and then after years of negligence, they are detonated. The heads of state and government behaved nonchalantly as the crisis mounted; they made no attempt to comprehend the dark that gathered over the European pathways.” (Junker, 2005, para. 6-7) For the first time in sixty years the European Union (EU) is at the crossroads. There are both internal and external forces that are tearing the European Union apart. The challenges the EU is facing are foundation flaws found in its widening and deepening policies, the spread of terrorism, mass migration, global economic recession, the rise of nationalism, and hybrid democracies even oligarchies. Analyzing Romania’s accession and integration in the European Union and the aftermath in comparison to other countries in the EU can provide insights into the underlying problems troubling the EU. European Union members believed receiving membership status would provide them state security, economic prosperity through free trade, a sense of belonging, and no state borders as EU policymakers advocated. However, the actual effects of accession were: loss of state protection against outside forces; free trade as shaped by the whims of EU policymakers; lack of national identity, sovereignty, and independence. The EU’s inability to recommend effective policies on how to deal with political, cultural, social and economic challenges caused division amongst its members. The fallout has created a ‘two-speed’ Europe with two emerging sides – the East versus West. With a divided Eurozone and a crisis that seems to never end the future of Europe is more uncertain than ever before with all the ingredients required for the dismantling of the Union.