The European Union’s raft needs to reinforce its sails and recalibrate its compass
This week, the flames surrounding Federica Mogherini have provided further arguments to those seeking to destroy the forest of the
To address these challenges, the EU must understand two realities.
First, contrary to what certain intellectuals claim, the alliance with the United States has become extremely fragile—not just now, but for the foreseeable future. The international outlook shaped by Donald Trump, with or without him, is here to stay. Beyond “America First”, the geopolitical priorities of the new elites in power are clear and follow this order: their own hemisphere, the Indian and Pacific regions, the Middle East, the Arctic, and, last on the list, Europe.
Second, immediate and structural reforms are needed. We live in a different world—post-neocolonial, diverse, and multipolar. The United Nations, in its most political aspect, and the old Security Council, are stuck in the past. Relations with former colonies have shifted from subordination to equality and the emergence of new networks of interests. Europe must learn to operate within new frameworks of international cooperation, without illusions of neocolonial superiority.
Mario Draghi, in his September 2024 report on European competitiveness, which reads as an urgent appeal, highlights the risk of the EU’s “slow agony” if it does not invest massively in deepening the single market, banking union, digital technologies, and a cohesive and robust foreign policy, especially regarding the United States, Russia, and China. We must move away from a Europe that thinks like petty bourgeois, like would-be nouveau riche who prioritise consumption and appearance over effort and the common good. From a Europe too often led by opportunistic politicians—in Brussels and in the capitals of member states.
Draghi criticises the decline in productivity, the fragmentation of the single market that drives high-growth potential companies across the Atlantic, excessive regulatory burdens that stifle SMEs—we are a space governed by law firms and lobbyists for major private interests—and the lack of focus on clear priorities, such as innovation in advanced technologies and the link between decarbonisation and economic growth.
He also considers it essential to end the unanimity rule in several sensitive areas, such as foreign policy, defence, budgetary issues, and the accession of new members. These are some of the areas where the qualified majority principle should apply: the dual condition requiring both 65% of the population and 55% of the states. The unanimity rule is an obstacle to innovation and prevents rapid responses to geopolitical crises. The world is changing rapidly. We cannot build the future with the rules of the past.
This is also the moment to put forward an ambitious proposal for a common budget of at least 5% of European GDP, instead of the current 1%. This budget would be funded by its own taxes, not currently covered by the member states. Its purpose would be to finance research in high technology, digital, energy, convergence between member states, youth mobility within Europe, and support for initiatives that expand Europe’s geopolitical reach. These new funds could also be used to finance the ongoing mobilisation of a sufficiently broad and robust European rapid reaction military force. This would be an important step towards strategic autonomy. Without energy and military sovereignty, the EU will be nothing more than a mighty but powerless Titan, like the legendary Atlas.
The Global South, in its various forms, already defines much of today’s geopolitical map. Europe must once again become the champion of international solidarity and cooperation. Among other things, it should contribute with donations, not just loans, to help less developed countries combat climate change, organised crime and poverty. Likewise, EU states have a duty to participate in coalitions seeking to modernise the political side of the UN, especially the issue of Security Council representation. The Global South values the UN. Europe would benefit from being seen as committed to this process of renewal.
Just as the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century, the EU believes in the illusion of a certain external grandeur. Rome did not fall because of a single battle, but through slow erosion: loss of citizens’ confidence, collapse of central authority—corrupt and utterly distracted from what mattered—futile quarrels in the Senate, and growing threats from outside. We must not follow the same path.
