Leadership by credibility: Franco-German visions of the future of the Union

Summary:

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.