EU's Existence Hangs by a Thread: Urgent Fix Needed or It's Game Over

Discover the Critical Flaw Threatening the Future of the European Union

In times of rising separatist and nationalist ideologies, it oddly appears that platforms such as Netflix may be more successful at creating a common European cultural identity than the European Union (EU) itself.

The EU was founded (in its own words) on the values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, justice, and respect for human rights, thus ensuring peace, progress, and welfare. Its integrity relies on the pursuit of sustainable development, which includes solidarity among Member States and the respect of the anti-discrimination principle. However, the European project now stands at a crucial turning point – it must adopt a more sustainable model to uphold the values it claims to embody in its professed democracy.

The question thus arises whether the EU can facilitate an even stronger and versatile platform than Netflix, to unify all of Europe's nations around a single set of goals.

Photo by Christian Lue on Unsplash

The EU and its Identity Crisis

Since the founding Treaties, structural policies have been designed to foster economic, social, and territorial cohesion in the Union by supporting job creation, competitiveness, research, innovation, and sustainability, and by improving quality of life.

However, the 2008 crisis made evident that the EU needed a more effective model of economic governance than the then-in-force. From the UK and Brexit to the immigration crisis and economic issues due to the Russia-Ukraine war, the Union faces rising challenges daily. Currently, the very founding members are witnessing surges in nationalism in Europe, which points toward a broader identity issue within the Union.

In fact, over the past decades, there has been a rise in right-wing extremism, with incidents mainly revolving around anti-immigration violence, anti-government action, and assaults on minority groups. Many may argue that History is bound to repeat itself, with dissatisfaction with democracy having increased significantly among young Western Europeans in recent years.

Europe has seen a series of fragmentation threatening its integrity, with Brexit being the culminating point – Eurosceptics declaim the EU’s inability to address economic problems post-2008 such as high unemployment rates and inequalities. Additionally, the rise of nationalism contributed to people getting defensive about sovereignty, with multinational organizations being considered almost obsolete.

Countries such as Hungary and Poland were always the “troublemakers” of the Union. However, one of the effects of the Russian-Ukrainian war was the increased cohesion between the EU states, especially between Poland and the rest of the Union. Where Hungary stands is hard to tell, as President Victor Orban is currently blocking the entrance of Sweden into NATO and is widely regarded as “Dennis the Menace” of the EU family.

The world is becoming much more polarized, with nations such as China, India, and Russia taking a more prominent role in the international arena, besides the US and the EU. The surge in nationalism across the globe is one of the symptoms of the multipolar world order. That means, that we will see such trends occurring more and more, especially as time passes and the liberal hegemony of the US starts weakening. Whether the EU can preserve its supra-national form of governance is a big question.

This became evident as the EU confronted yet another crisis—the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Border police checkpoints were introduced at crossings between countries like Croatia and Slovenia, both of which belong to the Schengen zone. Unrestricted flow of goods, capital, and people is one of the primary benefits of EU membership. The introduction of checkpoints posed additional challenges for the EU as a whole. Why? Because it raises the question: What is the purpose of the EU if it fails to fulfill its primary goal of ensuring the economic prosperity of the entire Union? The EU isn't an attractive option for candidate countries solely because of its democratic values or similar aspects; rather, it's primarily for the economic advantages that membership offers.

So, if the Union cannot guarantee its members a better economic outlook, what can it offer in return? The list seems short, as demonstrated by the case of Brexit. This underscores why the European project revolves around one central idea: a shared European identity. If the EU fails to foster such an identity among its citizens, it risks succumbing to future crises that may overwhelm the Union. Why should citizens of one country bear the consequences of a crisis originating elsewhere, especially if they cannot relate to that country? History teaches us that a nation, despite its shared identity, can become polarized to the point of unrecognizability. Now, imagine the potential for polarization among countries with differing languages, cultures, and perhaps even religions. While the EU celebrates the diversity of its citizens, this diversity may also represent one of its greatest vulnerabilities.

When looking at the problem, however, such challenges are not the chicken, they may very well be the egg. A democracy’s sustainability relies on four pillars: governance, environmental, economic, and social considerations, bound together by a sense of identity – without it, representation loses its meaning, with poor voter turnout and awareness. Indeed, nationalism and populism are powerful symptoms of the identity crisis, but many extremist groups in Europe tend to agree on the issue of identity.

We live in a world where identity politics is becoming more and more influential, such as the #MeToo movement. Especially now, post-Brexit and amidst the ongoing global crises, the EU needs to show its citizens what it means to be European if it wishes to preserve itself in the long run. All nations are created on myths, without exceptions. Therefore, if the EU wishes to create a common European identity, it should exploit the significance of symbolism to create a type of modern myth, one that will bind all Europeans together. The story of creation, and one similar to that of the USA, can bring about and assist in creating a binding European sentiment.

Rather than resorting to a reactionary approach, its policies need to be bold and actionary, with a primary focus on its citizens – therein lie the main gatekeepers of its democracy. Whether it will succeed in that, and for the betterment of who, only time will tell.