Rocked, externally, by the return of armed conflict to European soil in the form of the Ukraine-Russia war, and also, on the other side of the Mediterranean, by the Israel-Gaza conflict, in late 2023, and just a few months ahead of its next parliamentary elections, the European Union is experiencing a situation unprecedented since the end of the Cold War more than 30 years ago. The EU was built on a policy of small steps forward, broadly focussed on the economic and trade spheres (so far with good results), but it is struggling to change gear and come up with common policies in the areas where its member states are keen to retain their sovereignty (migration, currency, fiscal policy etc.). Moreover, with successive enlargements taking the number of members to 27, the practicalities of its decision-making processes, particularly in the Council, mean that it has become very complicated to arrive at agreements.
Is this situation weakening the EU and, if so, to what extent? Is it at the end of the road when it comes to economic and political integration? In this European Chronicle, Jean-François Drevet examines the EU’s fragilities in five key areas: the single market, budget policy, migration policy, the single currency and a common foreign policy. ‘Things have not turned out as well as they might have’, he writes in his conclusion, but the extremely turbulent context in which Europeans now operate requires increased (re-)commitment to common action by the countries of the EU and a clearer statement of their belonging to a shared entity.
