Europe Drifting and at Risk

For a host of reasons, the European project, one of the most impressive international achievements of the past fifty years, is in deep crisis. “Malaise”, a word made famous by President Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s, now seems the most apt description of the European Union’s mood. In the United States, malaise gave way to “morning in America” under Ronald Reagan’s leadership. In Europe’s current situation, there are few reasons to believe that any comparable shift is likely.

The core of the European project’s success was economic. Beginning with the German Wirtschaftswunder in the late 1950s, the ability of European states to integrate was based on their collective ability to deliver jobs, affluence and a reliable social safety net to national publics. In particular, Europe’s success reflected a basic, strategic decision by successive German governments to pursue Germany’s national interests within the broader framework of Brussels-based institutions. This was an expensive strategy, but for Germany and the rest of Europe it largely worked.