The first decade of the 21st century has just come to an end. Without having
to wait for future findings and interpretations by political scientists, political
actors or even historians, one can surely say that this first decade was
also a rather turbulent one. On a global scale, the most outstanding developments
are linked to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, military
interventions in Afghanistan and in Iraq and the international financial and
economic crisis. In addition, one must also include – from a European perspective
– the struggles to renew the treaties of the European Union, the
obstacles and challenges to enlarging the Union, a continuing terrorist
threat as evidenced in Madrid and in London, and the particular European
implications of the financial and economic crisis, culminating in the crisis
of the Euro.
Despite this first-glance negative assessment, the first ten years of the 21st
century need not be considered a “lost decade” for Europe – if the European
Union and its member states draw the right conclusions from these
developments, face the challenges of the years to come as opposed to averting
them and by pro-actively responding to these challenges