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Europe at fifty

The approximately 500 million citizens of the European Union (EU) commemorated on Sunday the historic 50th anniversary of the founding Treaty of Rome of 1957. That established what has turned out to be an exemplary model of building peace, prosperity, stability and solidarity within a single entity by 27 member countries, many of whom ravaged by bloody wars or separated by ideological divisions, and sends out as poignant a message in the current so-called unipolar globe as it did in the post-World War II years. The 21st century's twin dangers of United States' ambition of presiding over a global empire and terrorism (potentially with a nuclear dimension) warrant the same concerted response from Europe's leaders that led to the consolidation of liberal democratic values and institutions following the defeat of fascism. The pan-European vision that was articulated in the late 1940s and the 1950s was given a concrete shape in subsequent decades through the continuing and inter-connected processes of economic integration and geographical enlargement; and solidified by the cornerstones of rule of law, fundamental civic and political freedoms, and human rights. Europe's single currency, the Euro, which holds sway in major member countries (with important exceptions), the mobility of goods, services, capital and people across national borders all underlie the immense strength commanded by the EU. The six founding members clearly saw the advantages, but without perhaps apprehending the full extent of the conflicting pulls and pressures it would exert on the union as well as its member states. But the periodic expansion of the bloc in phases and its capacity to take on board the divergent economic and political concerns of new members has enabled the EU's leadership to forge ahead with its many endeavours towards greater integration, even if popular indifference to the idea of a common Europe still remains a challenge.

While an enlarged Europe would have to fashion more innovative responses to confront emerging challenges to further integration, especially of its political framework and institutions, its own experience in the past five decades and the growing evidence from South Asia, South-East Asia, and Latin America of an impetus for regional integration of an economic and political nature, as opposed to affiliation with military blocs, reinforce the European model as a means for lasting stability and security. A way out of the current impasse on the European constitution would have to be found with some degree of self-assurance to realise the full potential of Europe's economic and political integration.

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