Europa verstehen

In the light of the EU crisis, it is very tempting to swim with the tide of scepticism towards the European Union and view every difficulty it experiences as a sign that it is doomed to failure. The process of European unification, which has also been called into question by the virulence and vehemence of nationalistic, xenophobic and nostalgic movements across Europe, deserves to be defended as it has reason and the future on its side. Moreover, it has repeatedly proven that it is capable of combating the crisis, that is, of developing the strength to haul itself out of the crisis by confronting its causes and the driving forces behind it. Combating the crisis will afford us a better understanding of the EU in all its ethical, historical, political, participatory and civilizational dimensions. If we look beyond the crisis, we can see that fundamentally the EU is a developing community with great potential, whose teething problems can be rectified through a sustained process of integration and unification.