At a time when the EU is seeking to promote a common gait, sending a message of unity to Washington, Moscow and Beijing most countries are shaken inside. Comment by Kostas Argyros.

“It is the time to show that we are holding this Europe united,” Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Mertz said two weeks ago as part of the 27th Europaforum, which traditionally spreads the agenda on all issues related to Europe: security, economy, foreign policy.

Last week in two neighboring German countries, political developments confirmed that this demanding cohesion for the EU, as a prerequisite for survival in troubled times, is a “threatened species” in almost all European societies.

Neighbors in turmoil

In Poland, a nationalist neo -conservative with a peculiar relationship with history, Carol Navrotsky was elected a marginally president of the Republic, underlining the deep division between the forces of maintenance and those who hope for an open, tolerant society. In a juncture where Mertz and Prime Minister Donald Tusk talk about a “new beginning” in the historically burdened relations between the two countries and in common initiatives, some want to pull a handbrake.

In another neighbor, in the Netherlands, the government collapsed because of the persistence of the leader of its strongest party, far -right Hert Wilders for a tougher asylum policy. The traditional member of NATO’s “hard core” and the home of today’s SG Alliance, Mark Rutte has ahead of the months of acute political confrontation, with the “Freedom Party” aspiring at even better percentages than 23% of November 2023.

The crisis is not irrelevant to what has been happening in Germany in recent weeks, as Wilders essentially demands “closed border policy” similar to Merz’s.

The anti -European people on top of them

What about the “anti -European forces” to other neighbors? In Austria, which is also moaning for Berlin’s asylum policies, the far -right Eleftheric Party, the first party in the elections, may have been ruled out by a “government government”, but is waiting for its moment again. In neighboring Hungary, Victor Orban continues to obstruct EU common policies and enjoys the fact that Trump seems to adopt his own methods rather than the upside.

Concerning the generous attempt to demonstrate a Macron-Merts front, everyone knows that in France the president with his policies, anything but enthusiasm provokes his compatriots.

A little farther the picture is just as worrying. In Romania, a far -right president was avoided at the last moment, but there the division is deep and perhaps more polar than in Poland. We are talking about a country that plays a key role in allied activities against Russia.

In the “lonely” Portugal, 23% for the far -right Chega is shock, if one remembers that the country has survived the Troika and Memorandums with zero percentages for such forces. Unclear what government will emerge now. In Spain, the minority government of Pedro Sanchez has an aggressive right/8 far -right opposition full and is not synchronized with NATO defense spending plans. In Italy, Georgia Meloni boasts because she is one of the few political figures that Trump appreciates.

So does Europe look “united and determined”, as Merz and Macron project it? Can they convince this Trump and Putin? As polarization and volatility obliges politicians to look at their home first, often adopting policies that cause “damage” to neighboring countries, it seems difficult to cause this sought -after European cohesion. In the summer of Europe it is forecast warm and restless.