Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
The EditorsMarch 03, 2016

When is the last time you heard good news coming out of Brussels? Between the Greek debt crisis and a resurgent Russia, ISIS-inspired attacks and an influx of refugees, it has been a rough few years for the European Union. Now many in the United Kingdom want out. Following marathon negotiations with European leaders in February, Prime Minister David Cameron, fulfilling a campaign promise, announced a referendum, scheduled for June 23, to decide the future of the country’s E.U. membership.

Mr. Cameron called for the vote only after winning a number of concessions from Brussels, including limits on the benefits that must be paid to E.U. migrant workers; fair treatment for countries that opt out of the euro; and, most significant, assurance that “references to ever-closer union do not apply to the United Kingdom.” While the prime minister is now campaigning to remain within that union, a number of his fellow Tories support the so-called Brexit, and the British public is almost evenly split on the question.

Many of the challenges facing Europe—from migration to climate change—do require a unified response. But E.U. leaders cannot combat growing euroskepticism, not just in Britain but in countries from Greece to Germany, by simply dismissing nationalist sentiment as a relic of the last century. If the future is not to be “ever-closer union,” E.U. defenders need to formulate a new vision for the European project—and they should not wait until June 23 to do so.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
William Rydberg
9 years 4 months ago
I seem to recollect that these are the same people that turned down Pope St John Paul II's request that they include a tiny reference to Europe's Christian Roots in their Founding Constitution. Considering that from a Catholic perspective, it is in God that we "live and move..." Acts 17:28. One can only wonder what the future holds in post-modern terms for the European Project ? For European Project philosophy in my opinion is summarized: To poorly quote John Lennon's song: "...imagine there's no heaven, it's easy if you try no hell below..." Just an administrative paradise... Just one Trans-Pacific Partnership away... Just wondering...
Adam Hochfelder
9 years 4 months ago
Europe has lost control of the migrant crisis.

The latest from america

Frank Turnbull, S.J., a longtime editor at 'America' who died earlier this week, is remembered as a humble, quiet and yet forceful presence to those who knew him during his 85 years of life.
James T. KeaneJuly 18, 2025
A Reflection for Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time, by Zac Davis
Zac DavisJuly 18, 2025
Trauma-informed spirituality knows better than to promise that prayer will take away all the pain. But it can offer the hope that, even in the midst of pain, there can be moments of feeling whole.
Nicole KirpalaniJuly 18, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telephoned Pope Leo XIV, who urged Israel’s leader to revive negotiations and enact a ceasefire.