How to preserve European unity

Hilde Vautmans | Issue 5 | Brussels, Comment, Magazine

From the Archive

Brussels,,Belgium,-,October,31,,2020:,Covid-19,Recovery,Plan,For

There may be dissent within the EU – but key changes and a new mindset can yet win the day

In Europe, we are currently witnessing a fundamental shift that marks the times we are living in. The traditional division between eurosceptics and euro-optimists is losing much of its former relevance. Today, some of the most critical positions vis-à-vis Brussels come from the pro-European, even federalist camp. At the same time, in European capitals, voices that were traditionally pleading to leave the EU are now drifting away from their overt pro-exiting campaigns and advocating for “changing” Europe from within. The pro-European trend is mirrored in public opinion: since 2016 – liberal democracy’s annus horribilis – support for Europe has been consistently growing. People across Europe have witnessed the practical downsides of leaving the EU and, most importantly, the inadequacy and insufficiency of trying to address global challenges alone.

However, despite the growing support for European integration, both among politicians and among citizens, very few people are happy with the European Union as it is today. In its current form, it is too slow, too weak, too little, too late… the European project is not delivering on its promises – exactly when these promises are as relevant as they have ever been.

In this changing and challenging context, that is what 2022 will need to be all about: defending Europe’s people, Europe’s sovereignty, defending what Europe has always been …

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