The way it's going, 2024 could turn into a nightmare for the 27-country bloc - an all-time annus horribilis. A daunting slew of challenges is coming to a head. Is the EU ready to meet them? Definitely not.
Take the crisis in the Red Sea. Iran-backed Houthi militants have been attacking shipping there since the Israel-Hamas war began. Citing threats to global trade and free navigation, the US and the UK struck back last month in Operation Prosperity Guardian - on their own.
The EU has an important stake in this fight. About 40% of its Asia and Middle East trade moves via Suez. But only the Netherlands provided hands-on assistance. Germany offered support - in a written statement. France, Italy and Spain ducked out. The excuse is that the EU plans to launch its own Red Sea mission. Yet foreign ministers have put off a decision until 19 February. The good news is that Belgium may send a frigate.
This sorry saga exposes some familiar EU singularities: ambivalence about following America's lead, fear of getting into a war and, in this case, worry about siding with Israel. Snoozing at the tiller, Europe is again failing to pair its self-interest and aspirations as a global actor with timely, concrete, joined-up action.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 02, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian Weekly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 02, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian Weekly.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Moving Back To Moscow: How Dream Of Freedom Unravelled
The army of riot police had finally retreated from Tbilisi's Rustaveli Avenue, the broad thoroughfare in front of the parliament building, back into the barricaded parliamentary estate.
News Of Raisi's Death Met With Fireworks And Few Tears
Activists in Iran have said there is little mood to mourn the death of the president, Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash near the border with Azerbaijan on Sunday.
Red Flag? Alito Scandal Casts Doubt On Supreme Court Impartiality
With less than six months to go before America chooses its next president, the US supreme court finds itself in an unenviable position: not only has it been drawn into a volatile election, but swirling ethical scandals have cast doubt on its impartiality.
Infected blood Final report vindicates the families still awaiting justice
\"We have been gaslit for generations,\" was the reaction of Andy Evans, chair of the campaign group Tainted Blood, in response to the final report into the contaminated blood scandal, which was published on Monday.
The race to evacuate Vovchansk's remaining residents
Rescue operations ever more dangerous as fighting reaches Kharkiv townat the centre of Russia’s latest offensive
Alice Munro 1931 -2024
The Nobel prize winner whose masterly accounts of ordinary lives in smalltown Canada elevated the short story into the highest form of literature
Creativity takes root
From Nikide Saint Phalle's Tuscan Tarot Garden to Barbara Hepworth's coastal oasis, artists’ green spaces are about somuch more than plants
Tory war on overseas students is all about saving their own skins
A key turning point in British politics was Tony Blair's famous priorities: \"education, education, education\".
Catalans once longed for freedom, but it doesn't look so appealing now
For the first time since 1980, parties opposing Catalonia's independence from Spain have the support of a majority of voters in the region.
I believe that Ricky's law has saved lives, it has changed lives, restored families'
Ricky Klausmeyer-Garcia’s friends struggled to get him addiction treatment, leading to the creation of alawin his name. Buta year after his death, profound questions remain about how best to help those with substance use disorder in the US.