Europe's Destiny: The Old Lady and the Bull

摘要

Europe's Destiny is a comprehensive investigation of the current world arena that the European Union and its collective member states reside in today. Marjan has written a book full of imagery and metaphor as well as being replete with examples of the many challenges the Union must navigate if it wishes to remain relevant well into this still adolescent, yet, already complex century. The volume is, in essence, a summation of just where Europe stands, both in the guise of the continent as a whole and the Union specifically. Currently, Marjan argues, 'Europe finds itself at a crossroads' (p. 4) with difficult choices to make, chief amongst which is just what 'viable model' to follow if it is to retain its position in the world and to 'overcome its internal economic and social difficulties' (p. 5). In order to accomplish this exploration, the somewhat cliched metaphor of an onion is used to analyse and 'peel off Europe's challenges at three broad levels, roughly outlined as: global (the 'external layer'); pan-European (the 'intermediate layer'); and EU/institutional specific (the 'internal layer').