Alongside debate about the EU Constitution, a debate about European values has also developed. This debate is important not only for implanting meaning in the Constitution, but will also determine the vitality and energy of the EU itself.
The EU, being the product of several great religious and philosophical traditions, is a community of values. The ideas of the Greeks and Romans, Christianity, Judaism, humanism and the Enlightenment have made us who we are. Dialogue with Islamic and Arab cultures also helped form our identity. The pattern of our values has been woven over hundreds of years.
ILLUSTRATION: YU SHA
Europe is the continent of Michelangelo and Montesquieu, but also of the guillotine and the gas chamber. Indeed, the bitter experience of WWII taught Europeans how fundamental the importance of shared values is. In an impoverished, war-ravaged Europe, people yearned for peace, freedom, stability and a new chance to prosper.
The architects of European integration -- Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, Konrad Adenauer, Alcide De Gasperi, and others -- understood that these ideals could be achieved only by combining and interweaving the practical interests of Europe's countries. They built their fragile house of peace on a foundation of coal and steel.
The founders passed the torch on to the generation of Jacques Delors, Helmut Kohl, Francois Mitterrand, Vaclav Havel, Valery Giscard d'Estaing and others. They broadened and deepened European cooperation. Their leadership made it possible for Europe to make great strides towards its post-war ideals -- peace, stability and prosperity.
We now stand at the threshold of a new phase of European cooperation. Late next month, the EU's Constitutional Treaty will be signed. A new generation of politicians is ready to carry the torch onwards.
But is the torch still burning bright? In the early 1950s, Jean Monnet wrote: "We are not forming a coalition of states. We are uniting people."
Apparently not. As the Union races ahead, it seems that it has lost Europe's citizens along the way. Many are turning their backs on the whole project. They have trouble seeing what is common to Europe. They do not feel part of the great whole. Even in the new member states, enthusiasm for the European family of democracies is cooling. We have achieved a united Europe without uniting Europeans.
Today's post-war generations, lacking direct memory of WWII, view Europe's great achievements -- liberty, peace and prosperity -- as a given. The idea of Europe as a heritage and a mission does not mean much. But, without ideals, Europe's foundations will erode.
The emphasis on pure self-interest increases this threat. My generation grew up with the image of Europe as an economic form of cooperation. Political motives behind European integration were overshadowed by the economic project. The result is an impression of Europe as a marketplace. A Europe of markets and money, not of man and morals, dominated the project. But without a moral foundation, there can be no free-market economy.
Today, we are paying the price for not attending to Europe's shared values and common mission. Until Europeans know precisely what Europe stands for, what inspires and motivates us, the Union will not be able to take joint action in the world.
The EU Constitution will make Europe more democratic and more transparent. It provides further guarantees that decisions will be taken by those closest to citizens, and it acknowledges the significance of the values on which the Union rests: respect for human rights and dignity, liberty, democracy, equality and the rule of law. These shared values are the glue that binds governments together in the recognition that clinging to pure self-interest is no longer reasonable when common concerns call for a common strategy.
For what is the point of doing away
with Europe's physical borders if borders between its citizens remain? How can Europeans be happy that the Iron Curtain is gone if individuals and groups across the Union barricade themselves behind private iron curtains?
Indeed, fear, insecurity and nationalism are again raising their heads. It is important for Europeans to reflect on that as they prepare for further rounds of enlargement and consider starting accession negotiations with Turkey.
The preamble of the Constitution states that Europe is "united in its diversity." This may be the most concise statement of what makes Europe Europe. But the words "united in diversity" raise the question of where this unity lies.
The answer lies in the values on which the Union is based. They are contained in three concepts: freedom, solidarity and mutual respect. These three together make it possible for Europe to open its doors to a great diversity of peoples and at the same time speak as a community of peoples prepared to take responsibility for one another.
Making such a community a reality will not come about by believing that Europe's culture is better than others. We will make it a reality through dialogue and deep reflection on Europe's common values. Values must be the road that leads to what cannot be reached by markets and institutions alone -- the accession of Europe's citizens to the EU.
Only by embracing their shared values can Europeans prevent their Union from becoming a spiritless machine. Together, Europeans must find what connects them, and derive new enthusiasm, new spirit from what they find -- a spirit sorely needed to tackle the great issues of today. No country can address these issues alone. After more than 50 years, Europe as a community of values remains as necessary as ever.
Jan Peter Balkenende is prime minister of the Netherlands and president of the European Council. Copyright: Project Syndicate
The conflict in the Middle East has been disrupting financial markets, raising concerns about rising inflationary pressures and global economic growth. One market that some investors are particularly worried about has not been heavily covered in the news: the private credit market. Even before the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, global capital markets had faced growing structural pressure — the deteriorating funding conditions in the private credit market. The private credit market is where companies borrow funds directly from nonbank financial institutions such as asset management companies, insurance companies and private lending platforms. Its popularity has risen since
The Donald Trump administration’s approach to China broadly, and to cross-Strait relations in particular, remains a conundrum. The 2025 US National Security Strategy prioritized the defense of Taiwan in a way that surprised some observers of the Trump administration: “Deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority.” Two months later, Taiwan went entirely unmentioned in the US National Defense Strategy, as did military overmatch vis-a-vis China, giving renewed cause for concern. How to interpret these varying statements remains an open question. In both documents, the Indo-Pacific is listed as a second priority behind homeland defense and
In an op-ed published in Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) said that Taiwan should not have to choose between aligning with Beijing or Washington, and advocated for cooperation with Beijing under the so-called “1992 consensus” as a form of “strategic ambiguity.” However, Cheng has either misunderstood the geopolitical reality and chosen appeasement, or is trying to fool an international audience with her doublespeak; nonetheless, it risks sending the wrong message to Taiwan’s democratic allies and partners. Cheng stressed that “Taiwan does not have to choose,” as while Beijing and Washington compete, Taiwan is strongest when
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) are expected to meet this month in Paris to prepare for a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). According to media reports, the two sides would discuss issues such as the potential purchase of Boeing aircraft by China, increasing imports of US soybeans and the latest impacts of Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. However, recent US military action against Iran has added uncertainty to the Trump-Xi summit. Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) called the joint US-Israeli airstrikes and the
RSS