Crisis Without End: The Disintegration of the European Project

Europeans and their leaders increasingly struggle over integration. Writing for New Statesman, Brendan Simms and Timothy Less remind that such struggles have historical precedents, including the breakups of Austria-Hungary, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. Those examples are used to analyze a scenario for possible collapse of the European Union. EU integration has grown at a fast pace. “This was tolerated in the good times: most voters did not pay a great deal of attention to what powers their rulers were giving up, as long as life continued to improve,” they write. “However, things changed when the EU finally hit a major crisis and the institutions found themselves responsible for matters, such as monetary and migration policy, for which there was no European consensus.” The authors point out decisions must secure approval of nations and the overall EU, challenging and unsustainable during tough economic times as national interests “sharpen” and fragment, inviting extremism and rivalry. The conclusion: “The collapse of the EU would, however, be hard to contain and the shock would be felt around the world.” – YaleGlobal