European youth will not bridge Europe’s divides

Contrary to Western stereotypes about progressive youth, young Europeans are quite polarised and disunited.

The European Union comprises a diverse set of countries, each with its own peculiar historical experiences, economic ambitions and contemporary political cultures. As the bloc expanded from its original core, this growing diversity has caused immense friction. In the United Kingdom, anxiety over EU migration following the eastward expansion of the union resulted in a Leave vote in the 2016 referendum on its EU membership. Meanwhile, conservative policies and actions that harm the rule of law in Hungary and Poland have provoked repeated condemnations and warnings from Brussels. Likewise, the tendency of Europe’s “frugal four” – Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands – to put fiscal conservatism above European solidarity during the COVID pandemic has caused tensions. These developments have raised many questions about the future of the bloc as its unity has been once again put to the test. Some fear that disintegration is possible, while others put their faith in the EU’s youth to mend these growing fissures.