Richard N. Haass is highly pessimistic about Europe, reciting a litany of crises and problems that engulf the EU, blaming the political class for its share of today’s growing “disarray.” He sees a number of “polices” that could help European leaders “manage” the myriad of challenges, and believes they could benefit from a US “involvement and support.” But since Trump treats European allies like “enemies”, now they must weather the storm on their own.

The author laments that not long ago, everything seemed bright in Europe: “Democracy, prosperity, and peace all seemed firmly entrenched.” The European project was being widely hailed as unstoppable. In 2007, marking the 50th nniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which gave birth to the European Economic Community (EEC) - the first step along the path to the modern European Union, the EU had cause to celebrate - "We are coming ever closer together, while remaining diverse in culture, language and traditions. Our unity is based on common values: freedom, democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and equality."

The global financial crisis in 2008 hit Europe hard. The ensuing eurocrisis deepened the north/south divide between affluent creditors and cash-strapped debtors. Barely recovered, fears are growing that the eurocrisis may soon return, when Italy plans to boost its deficit. The coalition in Rome came to power promising to slash taxes and boost welfare spending. France will overshoot the EU budget deficit ceiling next year without deeper spending cuts after Emmanuel Macron backed down to the anti-government protests, “offering compromises more likely to fuel additional demonstrations,” and advance Marine Le Pen’s anti-establishment and xenophobic agenda.

Since the 2011 Arab uprising that led to anarchy in Libya and a civil war in Syria, Europe was confronted with an influx of refugees, which peaked in 2015, when Germany decided to open its borders. This gave rise to far-right populism, whose supporters refuse to take in migrants and refugees from Muslim countries. The east/west divide widened, when Hungary and Poland openly rejected the EU refugee quotas, fearing an erosion of their Christian culture and national identity. Sliding toward authoritarianism, Hungary and Poland make a mockery of EU rules and values, while milking the bloc for financial benefits.

No doubt the UK and the EU have been fully consumed by Brexit negotiations. Although Britain’s 2016 vote to leave the EU has hurt the idea of Europe and Europe’s standing in the world, it has also brought a surprising unity to the other 27 EU member states. Each of them may be facing different consequences and costs from Brexit. But when asked for their takeaway so far, the most common response is: EU solidarity matters. Gone are their initial regret and fear of the bloc’s post-Brexit future, pragmatism prevails. Now they work hard to ensure a smooth transition, no matter what the Brexit outcome is,

The above-mentioned situation contradicts what the author says: “there is no single cause that explains Europe’s increasing disarray, there is no single solution either. To be precise, there is no solution of any sort. There is, however, a set of policies that, if adopted, would help leaders manage the challenges.” Needless to say, European leaders are tackling the issues he points out – migration, climate change, security and defence. What he deems most important is to stop the Nord Stream II pipeline and wean Europe from Russian gas, and to rein in Russian influence.

In the era of Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, the European legacy of open societies based on rights, obligations and individual freedoms has been under attack. Democratic governance is not a given in much of the world, apart from the Transatlanctic endeavour to uphold the Western-led global order. Despite Trump’s hostility toward Europe, and even though the EU is in disarray, we, Europeans are still ready to defend the last bastion of liberal values. It is premature to predict doom for Europe’s “future of democracy, prosperity, and peace.”