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any treaty modifications. But this is only possible if we place research and
investigation at the centre of public policy.
However, we must be careful not to deceive ourselves. The real prob-
lems faced by the EU are not Brexit, the election of Donald Trump, the
Ukraine–Russia crisis, or the conflicts in the Middle East. The real problem
is that for too long we have been stuck, failing to move forward, failing to
take initiatives that could deepen our union as the fires of nationalism
spread. The EU is in urgent need of a relaunch to coincide with the 60th
anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, because simply continuing as we are is
no longer an option. That, in summary, is the thrust of this Report on the
current situation in Europe: the future, as the great German philosopher
Immanuel Kant might have said, “depends on what we do”.
Nicolás Sartorius
Gero Maass
Executive Vice-president
Representative in Spain
Fundación Alternativas
Friedrich Ebert Foundation
PRESENTATION
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