Today, the reality in Europe is very different from that. Global geostrategy has shifted from a paradigm of multilateral cooperation to the pure and stark exercise of power, where the big players compete for hegemony and the medium-sized ones struggle to defend their autonomy in the face of openly coercive leadership. Soft power is now a thing of the past, and the values that were once celebrated as strengths of the European project are now perceived as weaknesses in this new and disturbing global scenario.
We Europeans face internal challenges in terms of security, competitiveness and governance. We are also experiencing growing frustration in large sectors of our societies, which is fuelling the discourse of those who propose a total rejection of the system. These domestic problems are exacerbated by the deterioration of our Atlantic link. The US is no longer the natural ally with whom we shared a common vision and solidarity, but has become an angry, fickle and even threatening partner, as we have seen in the dispute over Greenland. This new transatlantic relationship, which has yet to be fully defined, will determine the future of the European Union.
Europe's old unfinished business, so often delayed, is now an urgent and pressing necessity. We must quickly build everything we have failed to create so far: a defence worthy of the name, a genuine single market, a competitive economy, strategic autonomy and a model of governance that does not hinder the achievement of all these essential objectives.
However, an overly pessimistic view of the situation in Europe should not prevent us from recognising the strengths that are so envied by those who aspire to join the Union: our commercial power, our currency, our GDP, our model of freedoms, our common history and our determination to defend the political project we share. No one, least of all Europeans themselves, should underestimate the continent's ability to respond to challenges, however demanding they may be.
Since its foundation, Europe has grown and progressed through the various crises it has faced. Now we must face the uncertainty surrounding the future of our historic partnership with the US; it is not inconceivable that in a few years' time we will look back on this period not for the unease we feel today, but as the driving force behind a new leap forward for the continent.