For the first time in two decades, EU governments could soon be ready to embark on reforms that would make the EU as we know it unrecognisable. A final communique from a summit of heads of government in Granada last Friday said the 27 leaders had agreed to “lay the necessary internal groundwork and reforms” needed before Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and six other candidate countries of the western Balkans can join. The accession of these countries may be a long way off, but preparing for it makes radical internal reform inescapable. The leaders’ joint declaration was the first unanimous acknowledgement of that. Separate statements from leaders including Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz signalled the growing appetite for the shake-up that they have long avoided.
The big crises of the past decade or more – from the eurozone crisis to Brexit, the Covid pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine – have all tested Europe’s ability to respond collectively to international challenges. The EU proved its resilience with decisions on such measures as new EU-wide taxes to fund Covid recovery, joint procurement for vaccines and weapons and an emergency system to welcome Ukraine’s war refugees. Yet its joint responses also revealed the limitations of a system and structures created for another age.
