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THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN EUROPE: THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES
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socialists and liberals –that is, by clearly pro-Eu-
ropean forces– all offer an opportunity to con-
front nationalism and populism with the best
tool available: the European Union.
More Europe and a better Europe must
mean more democracy, more freedom and a
better quality of life for the continent’s citizens.
In this respect, the objective of constructing a
federal Europe that culminates in political, eco-
nomic and social union is, surely, the most effec-
tive antidote to the negative trends that resur-
faced in 2015.
The development of the political situation in
the EU’s member states will be fundamental be-
cause, whether one likes it or not, the EU con-
tinues to be a union of states, and has yet to
become a constitutional union of citizens. A
failure to recognise this could see 2016 and the
years that follow unleashing a disturbing dy-
namic of the kind that we thought had been
consigned to history. However, for the moment
the EU continues to be the largest and strongest
grouping of democratic countries on the planet.