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INTRODUCTION. THE PERFECT STORM
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economic fabric. Indeed, this could even serve to benefit our ageing pop-
ulations.
When fundamental values such as solidarity and the right to asylum are
broken, other principles also suffer, as is the case with the free movement
of people, enshrined in the Schengen treaty. Freedom is closely bound up
with security and the recent terrorist attacks in London, Paris and Brussels
have tainted Europe with fear, revealing the extent of our vulnerability.
Once again, all eyes are on Brussels, although this time for a macabre
double reason. As Enrique Ayala shows in his contribution, when it comes
to European security and government coordination, there is a political
vacuum.
The reaction among large sectors of the population and the populist
reaction of too many governments is precisely the opposite of what is
needed. Populist nationalism, which can only lead to the political fragmen-
tation of an already damaged European project, has quickly become its
enemy. José Manuel Albares, Carlos Carnero and Antonio Villafranca dis-
cuss some of the many examples of EU member states whose national
policies are “European” without being “pro-European”. There are region-
al examples, such as Catalonia, which has seen a surge in support for in-
dependence, but also a major example at the national level with the Unit-
ed Kingdom’s referendum on EU membership. David Cameron’s initiative
is a form of escapism, this time from threats inside his own party, and Juan
Moscoso’s contribution examines the issue in depth, together with the
responses from Brussels at a humiliating European Council that would be
best forgotten but will likely prove unforgettable. Not only does the agree-
ment reached with Cameron freely concede his demands but it also di-
rectly alters the European project by changing the principle of ever closer
union, a step that can only be explained by a situation –characterised
above all by opportunist decision-making– to which the EU has succumbed
with all its weaknesses, falling prey to blatant blackmail whose future
consequences cannot be easily envisaged.
There can be no doubt that the EU has reached a crossroads, a moment
of unprecedented political challenge. What we are facing is more than an
economic crisis, or a refugee or security crisis. These are merely the effects,
albeit extremely serious ones. What makes them critical is the EU’s failure
to provide a credible response. Such a response is not beyond the realms
of possibility. The EU could opt for investment-driven economic policies,
going beyond the toothless Junker Plan, as the only way to reinvigorate an
economy drowning under the weight of monolithic austerity. It could