As Challenges Mount, Can Europe Correct Its Course?

As Challenges Mount, Can Europe Correct Its Course?

August 30, 2021

The liberal European order has been under attack from within and without in recent years. The EU became a convenient punching bag for opportunistic politicians in many of its member countries, and centrist political parties are being challenged by a populist wave that may not have yet crested. The work to rebuild trans-Atlantic ties with the U.S. under President Joe Biden has begun, even as Russia's attempts to destabilize the European order have not abated.  Learn more when you subscribe to World Politics Review.

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

The EU took a huge step toward enhanced integration in July 2020, 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.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Council President Donald Tusk applaud after the signing of a new Germany-France friendship treaty, Aachen, Germany, Jan. 22, 2019 (AP photo by Martin Meissner).

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 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 Joe Biden has committed to repairing the damage done to trans-Atlantic ties by his predecessor, Donald Trump, but tensions over European defense spending and energy ties with Russia will endure. 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, even as Brussels seeks to stake out an independent position amid the strategic competition between Washington and Beijing.

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

Latest Coverage

The Political Fallout From the Afghanistan Debacle Is Reaching Europe

The abrupt collapse of Afghanistan’s NATO-backed government in the wake of the departure of U.S. forces cast a sharp, critical spotlight on U.S. President Joe Biden. But the fall of Kabul has also riled the waters across Europe, where multiple governments are struggling to defend themselves against waves of criticism.

Elections and Domestic Politics

Overshadowed by the rise of the far right is the growing support for various national Green parties, driven both by the mounting pressure to address climate change and the absence of any other viable political home for left-leaning voters. But as voters shift to the extremes, compromise will be increasingly hard to come by. Elsewhere in Europe, politics remains driven by more locally bound considerations.

What a proposed bill reveals about the U.K.’s approach to regulating social media, in The U.K. Takes a Stab at Regulating Social Media Platforms

Why Italy’s prime minister might have trouble following up on his early successes, in Can Italy’s Draghi Keep Up His Winning Streak?

What drove Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s recent decision to pardon Catalan separatists, in Spain’s Sanchez Timed His Pardons for Catalan Separatists Well

How France’s ethnic minorities continue to pay the price of the country’s failure to confront its racist past—and present, in France’s Incomplete Reckoning With Its Colonial Past

Democracy and Rule of Law

Democratic norms are under attack throughout Europe, with leaders like Hungary’s Victor Orban and Poland’s Andrzej Duda chipping away at the rule of law in their countries. Orban, in particular, has used the coronavirus pandemic as a pretext for seizing powers and silencing critics. At the same time, unprecedented popular movements have arisen to counter these threats to democracy, like the historic protests attempting to dislodge an oligarchy in Bulgaria and a dictator in Belarus.

What a recent police killing in Czechia reveals about the state of anti-Roma discrimination in Europe, in Europe Isn’t Ready for a Reckoning on Roma Rights

Why Europe’s pandemic lockdowns have become a rule of law issue, in In Spain and Europe, Pandemic Lockdowns Face a Legal Reckoning

Why Brussels is starting to take a tougher approach on defending its values, in The EU Is Upping the Ante on Rule of Law Abuses in Hungary and Poland

What explains the EU’s visceral reaction to Hungary’s attack on LGBT rights, in Orban’s Anti-LGBTQ Law Crosses a Red Line for Europe

The European Union

The EU has so far managed to survive the populist wave by turning once again to its historical crisis-response strategy: muddling through. But efforts to reform the EU have stalled, leaving it vulnerable in the face of future crises—and to the changing global geopolitical landscape. The coronavirus pandemic now seems to be a perfect storm combining both challenges, but it could also open a window of opportunity for enhanced integration, particularly when it comes to fiscal policy and collective debt, as well as regional and global security challenges.

What the EU’s coronavirus vaccine success story means for member states, in Malta’s Vaccination Success Vindicates the EU’s Joint Procurement Scheme

Why the EU needs to start preparing a collective approach to migration, in Europe Is Unprepared for an Afghan Migrant Wave

What the EU’s draft proposal on tech regulation reveals about the obstacles ahead, in The EU’s Push to Regulate ‘Big Tech’ Platforms Is Already Getting Messy

How the EU plans to get to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, in The EU’s New Climate Law Lays the Groundwork for Net Zero

Europe-U.S. Relations

During his four years in office, Trump infuriated America’s long-standing European allies, lobbing trade threats and backing out of hard-won international agreements. At the same time, he cozied up to some of the continent’s more repressive regimes, particularly Poland and Hungary. The arrival of the Biden administration has improved the tone of the relationship, even as divergences on key policy and strategic issues will continue to arise, most recently—and visibly—over the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

How the war in Afghanistan—and the withdrawal fiasco—affected the trans-Atlantic alliance and Europe, in The Afghanistan Debacle Is Another Step Toward ‘Fortress Europe’

Why the Biden administration’s refusal to lift the U.S. travel ban on Europeans is ruffling feathers, in Europe Is Losing Its Patience on the U.S. Travel Ban

What remains unaddressed after Biden’s successful visit to Europe in June, in Biden’s Tour of Europe Leaves a Lot of Unfinished Business

Why the U.S. and Europe should avoid getting bogged down in the details of bilateral trade tensions, in Biden Should Think Big on the U.S.-EU Trade Agenda

Europe-China Relations

The EU has been struggling to strike a balance in its relationship with China. Ahead of the pandemic, the newly installed European Commission had taken a harder line toward Beijing, particularly over unfair trade practices. But China also represents economic opportunity to many of Europe’s leaders, leaving the bloc divided over how to balance China’s value as an economic partner and its risk as a strategic rival.

Why the U.K.’s approach to Chinese tech is due for a rethink, in The U.K. Needs a Coherent Approach to China and Tech Security

How Europe gave Biden a diplomatic victory on China during his June visit, in Europe’s Harder Tone on China Is a Win for Biden

Why the European Parliament put the EU-China investment deal on ice, in Europe Is Souring on China

How Europe can avoid being a bystander when it comes to a potential conflict over Taiwan, in Europe Can Play a Role in a Conflict Over Taiwan. Will It?

Trade and Economy

In the face of Trump’s hostility to free trade, the EU redoubled its efforts to seek out new partners in defense of the liberal trade order. Meanwhile, with Brexit now official, the EU must navigate the political and economic fallout of its permanent trade deal with the U.K., which went into effect on Jan. 1.

Why Brexit tensions are likely to return to the spotlight in September, in EU-U.K. Tensions Are Taking the Summer Off. Brexit’s Impact Isn’t

Why the rollout of the U.K.-EU permanent trade deal has been bumpy, in The Post-Brexit Trade Deal Is Off to a Rocky Start

What was at stake for EU-U.S. trade in the U.S. presidential election, in How the U.S. Presidential Election Looms Over Trans-Atlantic Trade Ties

Why EU-U.K. trade negotiations are going off the rails, in Boris Johnson Is Hurtling the U.K. Toward Another Brexit Cliff