Have Something to Offer the World

The international relevance of a small continent burdened with high unemployment and welfare-state economies that cannot cope with aging populations—a continent probably more popular with tourists than it is with investors—is not apparent at first glance, especially when juxtaposed with the rise of Asia. Nevertheless, Europe remains a perplexing, modern continent. From a political and institutional standpoint, this modernity is exemplified by the European Union (EU). To be sure, the European Union is probably going through its most significant crisis in 50 years. The rejection of the EU draft constitution by referendum in France and the Netherlands—two founding member countries—is a significant setback for the European project. With the draft constitution (a compromise document that was taking the EU in the right direction) on its deathbed, European governments are groping for solutions. But this period of introspection and disarray will not last forever. Once European leaders find a way to accommodate what is probably the key message sent by Dutch and French voters—that the European Union needs the