Opinion: EU in crisis as it turns 60 By Alexander Kudascheff

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It's a birthday party which sees many invitees in no mood to celebrate. In spite of that, the EU is still an incredible success story, and the current crisis provides an opportunity as well, writes Alexander Kudascheff. The EU - the European Union - is in crisis. Is it the biggest time of turmoil since its inception 60 years ago, as of now? Many see it that way, although the 1980s were a decade of crisis as well. At the time, it was referred to as Eurosclerosis, which was overcome by the then-EU Commission president, Jacques Delors. He began to set up the European Single Market. Acting reasonably - or, rather, cunningly - he did so neither via great proclamation, nor by declaring it a historical step, nor by publicly celebrating a rhetorical vision. No, he labeled it a project of 300 steps, which would, in the end, automatically amount to the creation of the Single Market. It is beyond debate that this was - within the then-decidedly smaller European Community (EC) - a policy option invented by Brussels that could actually be implemented. A similar approach would be out of the question today.
Idealistic departure after the war
EEC, EC, EU - those three acronyms signify the development of the European Union, from an economic community to a European community and, eventually, to a union. They signify an idealistic departure of a mere six nations after the devastating Second World War. This fledgling community, then, was slowly enlarged as Great Britain and Ireland were given access, followed by emergent democracies like Spain, Portugal and Greece. After further enlargements in which Eastern European nations gained access, the current union is one of 28. However, it will soon lose Great Britain, whose population has voted for "Brexit." "Brexit" - nothing is a better symbol of the current crisis. A country leaves the Union because this is what its people want. This had been beyond anyone's imagination. Since then - and this shows the seriousness of the crisis - Europeans have been riddled with self-doubt. This is reinforced by rampant right-wing populism which puts EU advocates in a tight spot. In France, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, in various central and eastern European countries right-wingers and extreme right-wingers chime in with calls for the EU to go - Brussels, the bureaucratic monster, has to be scrapped, the Euro has to be rescinded. And these calls are heard - not by majorities, thank God. But there are those who prefer going back to the pseudo-idyllic environment of the nation state. Nonetheless, the EU is - despite its size, which reminds many of an "overstretched empire" - a unique success story. Its has guaranteed peace in Europe. (And in order to appreciate what peace means, you simply have to travel to eastern Ukraine and talk to people there.) The single market and free trade have led to incredible prosperity. Solidarity of the wealthier nations has helped the poorer to catch up, to significantly reduce their lagging behind. People can travel, the younger generation can study everywhere, people can work and take up residence wherever they want. This would have been a total utopia 60 years ago, shortly after the disastrous Second World War - its coming true impossible to imagine for anyone.
Necessary reflection on the future
It's true: the EU of today has too many regulations. It is not sufficiently close to its citizens. It doesn't always succeed in making clear its objects and its significance. Brussels is a spaceship. The euro does not work as its founding fathers (in their idealism) hoped it would. Safeguarding the exterior borders is not perceived to be a common task. There are economic North-South and West-East divides, in part because many countries were granted access prematurely. And often national governments are overwhelmed by the deepening and development of the institutional EU, which leads to a cantankerous "no" and frequent blockades. The Europeans will have to reflect on that. By the same token, they have to realize just how well off they are on the "old continent." Moreover, currently thousands of young people across Europe are getting organized in order to make the "Pulse of Europe" heard, and strengthen it, and - in the process - become a dissenting voice against the right-wingers (and, sometimes, also against anti-globalization leftists). In France, a dedicated European like Emmanuel Macron has the opportunity to become president. Germany has two candidates for chancellorship - Angela Merkel and Martin Schulz - who could not be more different, but they are both dyed-in-the-wool pro-Europeans. In sum, realistic hope remains that the German-French axis can once again develop into the driving force of a Europe that renews itself. The crisis provides an opportunity as well. DW Photo