This piece was first published on OPEN Democracy 7/1 2013. Forget better communication or a radical change in its course of action: what the EU really needs is a big, bold idea to move forward. “If you think you lack words, what you really lack are ideas”. That is what I took away from a lecture by the father of framing, George Lakoff. I think about it every time I see the debate over the EU polarising into framing versus action. Take this exchange: some say the EU should just communicate better and others say it should act radically differently. It is really quite sad, because actions and framing can’t be separated and they both emerge logically from the ideas we pursue. That is why, when José Manuel Barroso is seeking guidance on where to go big and where to go small, he too should look to the level of ideas. If we have a clear idea about where we want to go, we can...