That, and the misconception the European countries are as a group in some sort of hunt to be the global number one, whatever that is.

Europe is not one country, nor is it just the EU, which itself is not a federation (people abroad seem to keep somewhat ignoring this important aspect). For the time being, we're not united under one flag, it's just a symbol of peace really. We're (mostly) happy neighbors, despite all the issues, despite proclamations by EU leaders on CNN.