Europa: guardare lontano

According to the author, a recovery of trust in Europe will only take place in the long run. This does not imply hiding the problems or weaknesses of the present, but rather interpreting them along the lines of specific critical criteria and in the light of a  contextualism which is unprecedented for Europe. The paper starts by analyzing what has been achieved during the eurozone crisis: although not particularly visible, some progress has been made. It then underlines the special responsibility of Germany, France and Italy as founding states and pillar countries of the eurozone. Finally, the author addresses the issue of “what still needs to be done” and of Europe’s role in the world; the hope is that Europe will improve its ability to work as a whole, as it has partly succeeded in doing during the crisis, and even more that it will manage to increase the legitimation of its decisions. Only if it takes the fear of change seriously, and makes an effort to fight it, will the European spirit be able to find its way again.