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Europe Drifts Toward an Unsettled Future

Jun 20, 2017 | 22:39 GMT

The existential threat to the European Union posed by national elections has faded. The concerns of the bloc's leaders will now turn toward reform.
The existential threat to the European Union posed by national elections has faded. The concerns of the bloc's leaders will now turn toward reform.

(sharrocks/iStock)

In 2017, pro-EU forces faced down their challengers to hold onto power. In 2018, they will have to decide what to do next. Moderate candidates emerged victorious from general elections in the Netherlands and France, and the same probably will hold true in Germany in September. While the immediate threat to European unity apparently has passed, it's been a decade since the Lisbon Treaty last overhauled the European Union's institutional framework, and it is becoming increasingly apparent to the bloc's members that it is time to start making plans for the future. While most EU governments accept that reforms are needed to strengthen the bloc and better prepare it to deal with future crises, they cannot agree on what exactly needs to be done....

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