Three years is a lifetime in politics. All the more so for the European Union and for its role in the world.
The EU Global Strategy (EUGS) was published exactly three years ago. It was presented by EU High Representative and Vice President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini to Member States two days after the British decision to leave the EU. Back then the Union scrambled to re-find its unity. The EU Global Strategy called for such unity. Agreed by all Member States and EU institutions, it also represented an expression of an open and outward looking Union standing united facing an increasingly non-liberal, fractured and unstable world.
Europe and the world since the EU global strategy
The period that followed was marked by the fear of a domino effect. As the EU entered a crucial election year, with key electoral appointments in Austria, the Netherlands, France and Germany, many feared that the Brexit referendum result would be mirrored in electoral outcomes in other Member States. With illiberal values making headway in political systems across Europe, the Union’s existential crisis had reached a new climax.
