Our World in 2018

EUROPE’S FUTURE
Early morning view of European commission headquarters building, known as the ‘Berlaymont’ in Brussels, Belgium, January 2018.
Europe’s internal and
external challenges
By Mikuláš Dzurinda
EPA-EFE/OLIVIER HOSLET
...The EU is a project
based on common
values: Values such
as free political space
in which everyone
can aspire to hold a
degree of political
power, and in which
an important role
is played by civil
society, independent
courts, minorities and
independent media.
The 2018 holds important
challenges for the European
Union, concerning both its
internal functioning and its external
.
them will be to continue increasing
the EU’s competitiveness and defence
capabilities, as well as and its unity
and capacity for action. In order to
make 2018 a success in this strategic
endeavour, we have to address not
only day-to-day practical issues, but
also various enduring dilemmas.
Among the concrete problems I
have in mind are those related to
the domestic developments in some
of our member states, mainly Poland
and Hungary. The dispute between
Slovenia and Croatia over the Gulf of
Piran as a gateway to international
waters for Slovenia also needs
a resolution because it seriously
jeopardises the EU’s unity and
internal cohesion. Unity and capacity
for action are of outmost importance,
especially now at the time of the
UK’s departure from the EU, but also
in light of the unstable situation in
our neighbourhood. Moreover, the
EU is a project based on common
values: Values such as free political
space in which everyone can aspire
to hold a degree of political power,
and in which an important role is
played by civil society, independent
courts, minorities and independent
media. These values, more than
anything else, make up our strength
22 2018 | OUR WORLD