The migrant crisis, a pandemic and the climate emergency: the need for internationally coordinated responses to crises has never been more apparent. And these problems are only the most pressing facing the European Union. Deeper and longer-term challenges lurk under the surface. Recognition Change is never easy. Especially not in a union of countries where the threat is not obvious to everyone. But the EU’s fundamental values (the rule of law, freedom of speech) are under attack. Indirectly, the pillars on which post-war Europe was built are slowly being undermined. Since 2010, increasingly powerful far-right populists have been distorting the meaning of European values. So have the far left, promoting identity politics and class struggle. The result is an increasingly extreme political discourse. The main beneficiaries of which are, undoubtedly, the populist forces. What is democracy? That’s why it’s so crucial to concede that democracy is normally not threatened by disputes, however ...