As Challenges Mount, Can Europe Correct Its Course?

Sourec Link

The liberal European order that emerged after World War II and spread after the collapse of the Soviet Union is now under attack from both within and without. The European Union—the ultimate expression of the European project—has become a convenient punching bag for opportunistic politicians in many of its member countries, as anti-EU sentiment has become part of the broader populist platform of protectionism and opposition to immigration.

The EU still managed to withstand its latest challenge in July, when it agreed to a historic deal that included a collective debt mechanism to help finance pandemic relief funds. Nevertheless, there is no way of knowing whether the populist wave that once seemed like an existential threat to the union has crested. Illiberal governments hold power in Hungary and Poland, and far-right parties were briefly part of coalition governments in Austria and Italy. Centrist leaders seem unable to come up with a response to immigration that doesn’t alienate more voters than it unites. And the coronavirus pandemic further highlighted the EU’s difficulties in providing effective collective responses to a crisis that, at least initially, saw each member state looking out for itself.

Even as leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel try to fend off challenges from right-wing opposition parties at home, they are also seeking to salvage major international initiatives, including the Paris climate agreement, and to position Europe as an independent pole in an increasingly multipolar world. To achieve that goal, the EU will have to overcome its internal divisions and bat down external threats to articulate a coherent collective foreign and security policy backed by a credible military deterrent.

Those external threats are myriad. Russian President Vladimir Putin persists in his attempts to destabilize the European order. U.S. President Donald Trump’s hostility to America’s traditional European partnerships, including pressure on NATO members to boost their defense spending and threats to open a new trade war with the EU, undermined trans-Atlantic ties throughout his presidency. And now the EU must navigate a relationship with China that is becoming increasingly complex, combining areas of cooperation with elements of strategic rivalry and confrontation. Meanwhile, the EU remains a bystander in the ongoing confrontation between the United States and China, exposing just how difficult it will be for the bloc to achieve the global influence some of its members seek.

WPR has covered Europe in detail and continues to examine key questions about what will happen next. With Brexit now official, what will the permanent trade relationship between the EU and the U.K. ultimately look like? Will the EU overcome its internal obstacles to progress on defense cooperation and fiscal integration? And will trans-Atlantic ties improve under the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden? Below are some of the highlights of WPR’s coverage.