In this report, FAES analyses the major challenges that Europe is facing and proposes a series of measures the Union can adopt to address them. European integration
after World War II was a success. The desired goals were fully achieved: peace and reconciliation for the European nations; security to ward off the threat of a totalitarian and expansionist model; cooperation based on freedom to reach goals shared by democratic nations and a common ambition for prosperity based on a free market economy. Today, the goals might seem different, but they are not. We are at peace, but peace is not guaranteed. We need to avoid temptations such as diluting the Nation States into a superstructure lacking legitimacy or creating state-like entities which would only reignite old conflicts. Overcoming the economic crisis requires openness, competition and integration so that European economies are more dynamic and create employment and wealth.