A PROJECT born out of the ashes of an unprecedented continental desolation, the European Coal and Steel Community emerged not simply as a promising economic arrangement but as an audacious exorcism of war itself. Its founding fathers—historic figures like Schuman and Adenauer, representing nations steeped in centuries of mutual bloodshed—sought to render conflict “not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible” through the power of shared resources and bound fates. Franco-German reconciliation, that indispensable kernel of legitimacy, ushered in a path toward the Treaties of Rome and the edifice now called the European Union.

THIS grand idea drew vitality from an external menace: the threat of Soviet communism. American patronage, extended out of both ideology and strategic calculus, nourished the bruised and faltering nations of Western Europe, binding them within the same camp. The Cold War’s end crowned this project with a dream of historical finality. Europe, whole and free, seemed ascendant—an emblem of prosperity radiating eastward to embrace the post-communist space. Hubris, however, is history’s perennial disease. As our authors pointedly observe, the EU’s representatives increasingly mistook triumph—however deserved—for innate superiority, and complacency festered where vigilance once reigned. Like a myriad of the continent’s traditional proverbs would remind them, “pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

TODAY’S realities lay bare some unpleasant truths: despite decades of vigilant harmonization endeavors, Europe remains a constellation of nations, not a cohesive geopolitical entity. Economic integration did not eliminate rivalries; political leaders often privilege sovereignty over solidarity, and societies fracture when crises demand unity. As America pivots to the Pacific, the EU comes across as bewildered—diplomatically subdued in Ukraine and the Middle East, technologically outpaced, and excessively absorbed in regulatory pedantry. Its bureaucracy and institutions face vocal musings about detachment and representativeness. Following through on its grand environmental goals, Europe’s undisputed moral banner, demands a recalibration of strategy, including utilizing trade as global leverage in addition to mere virtue signaling.

A NUMBER of our authors nevertheless believe that progress remains attainable, if anchored in a more pragmatic attitude towards complementary economies. Here too, the Union seems to be in a tough spot at present. As some of our contributors point out, Brussels has severed ties with energy-rich Russia, escalated disputes with an indispensable trade and technology partner, China, whilst struggling to cope with the new transactional mercantilism of the United States. Meanwhile, competitiveness erodes and strategic autonomy remains a formidable challenge. Enlargement, which was in the past the ultimate soft-power tool, languishes in both procedural and political paralysis. Neighbors seeking membership face a bloc stymied by indecision, fueling debates on alternatives. Reform is universally acknowledged as urgent. Leadership and mechanisms, however, remain elusive.

A RARE clarity appears when it comes to rearmament. Faced with the menace of Russia and increasingly fickle U.S. security guarantees, Europe is decidedly ramping up its defense sector. But as several authors caution, economies of war, once ignited, seldom extinguish when threats recede, raising fears of transforming a peace project into a permanent engine of militarized anxiety.

THE hour demands not resignation, but resolve. Europe remains one of the world’s largest and most sophisticated markets, and history shows that it has time and again found ways to reinvent itself in the face of adversity. The continent that once transformed centuries of carnage into epochal peace could not have lost all the imagination and capacity to lead.

EUROPE’S journey is unfinished—but therein lies its power. Its future chapters can yet be written as a story not of decline, but of resilience, creativity, and global influence.

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