Much has been made of Mark Rutte recently calling President Donald Trump “daddy” at the recent NATO summit. Certainly, the slip indicates how impotent Europe has shown itself to be in the face of geopolitical threats. But dependence on American support for its defense is not the only problem. The European Union, a bold experiment in international governance envisioned in the follow-up to World War II, has reached its limits. What we are witnessing is a sunset of Europe, the decline of a union founded on principles of peace and diplomacy that can no longer effectively respond to the moment.
Today’s crisis requires decisive action — not the cooperation and incrementalism designed to prevent war, but the admission that war is already here, and that now it is time to fight. In the 1950s, after the calamity of World War II, European countries, understandably, were desperate to find an arrangement that would safeguard the peace and security of the continent going forward. The uniting of European nations began with only six countries as its founding members (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg), comprising an institution radically different in size and scope from the one we know today.
France and Germany were constant sources of tension for the continent, and leaders were eager to find a way to prevent these conflicts from spiralling into another war. The simple idea on which the European project was founded was that economic integration would liquidate the threat of war. Countries financially and politically intertwined with one another would have more at stake in ensuring continued peace. Cooperation would increase the economic pie for all, and that would in turn create incentives against military escalation. As the European experiment grew, it changed not only in scope but in its fundamental nature.
It began its radical transformation with the Maastricht Treaty in 1991, which established the European Union. A few years later came monetary union, the adoption of the euro, and subsequently the Schengen Agreement which opened borders inside Europe. All these changes paved the way for further growth: In 1995, three countries, Austria, Finland and Sweden, joined the Union; in 2004, in one big-bang enlargement, Europe invited 10 additional members. The formerly subjugated countries of the East were accepted into the fold, given a chance at stability, prosperity and a peaceful European future. It was also a geopolitical promise: Those who adhere to Western values and accept the rules can become members of the European family.
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