Watching from the Sidelines on the Road to Disaster: The Old Continent Loses Control of Its Fate

Europe is facing multiple crises: wars in Iran and Ukraine, massive wildfires, a migration wave to Ceuta, and rising energy prices. An analysis in The New York Times points to the European leadership's inability to influence the decisions shaping its security and future.

Europe finds itself once again in the position of a bystander, while its fate is determined by external forces. A brutal summer is passing over the continent, which is simultaneously dealing with two wars (in Iran and Ukraine), unprecedented heatwaves, inflation, and growing anxiety over security and energy. An analysis published in The New York Times suggests that many of these challenges are beyond the control of European leadership. The continent is burning, literally and figuratively: massive wildfires have displaced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes in France and Spain, and firefighters have lost their lives in Greece. Adding to the chaos was a sudden migration wave to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa, which sparked sharp internal tensions within the European Union and provided additional fuel for far-right parties across the continent.