A continent with an identity crisis, economies with crises of confidence, and one nation looming large over the fortunes of its neighbours, Europe stands between extended integration and enforced disintegration. As the dust settles after Germany's elections, Empire travels across the continent to ask: what is the future of the European project? With bailouts and bankrupt member states draining the eurozone's resources - as well as its credibility - and technocratic demands challenging the ideal of sovereign democracy, we visit the countries gaining the most and those losing the most as the European Union seeks to survive and strives to consolidate. Visit www.aljazeera.com/empire for more.