Amid escalating international crises, Europe appears ill-equipped to offer effective diplomatic solutions. To regain influence as a global player, the EU should adopt an interagency mechanism involving its institutions and member states to develop policy options on foreign issues of strategic importance.

Nearly every Western country has seen at least some democratic decline over the past years, and much of it is related to the steady mainstreaming of extremism. However, seeing the ghosts of the past rise to prominence in places like Germany and Austria is of particular concern.

The EU’s focus on security has caused it to shift from a proactive to a defensive democracy support strategy. As a new institutional cycle begins, the union risks downgrading its global democracy promotion efforts too much and relinquishing one of its distinctive geopolitical advantages.

Despite strong incoming leadership and an ambitious plan for the next institutional term, a sense of defeatism is spreading across the EU. Rebuilding faith in collective European action must be the top priority.

Chancellor Scholz’s party secured a narrow win in the state of Brandenburg. But the victory cannot disguise Germany’s political and economic woes that also affect the EU.

The world is heading into a period where foundational rules once taken for granted no longer apply. The EU urgently needs to emerge from its peace dividend softness and build a power model that allows it to shape new alliances and deter adversaries.