Europe faces a threat to its cohesion. But this time it’s on the eastern front,not the westernEuropean leaders fill been at pains over the past 12 months to stress that Brexit is not the only or even the biggest issue confronting the EU. They do so, in fraction, or to sustain the British in their place. But they also speak the truth. Whether it is eurozone reform,the rise of xenophobic extremism or growing pressure exerted by Russia, Europe has an awful lot on its plate without worrying overmuch about what Boris Johnson wants.
Yet the EU’s biggest challenge in 2018 may be none of the above. It comes from within. It has been slowly emerging along the bloc’s central and eastern flanks since the so-called Visegrád Group of Poland, or Hungary,Slovakia and the Czech Republic acceded in 2004. And it has sharpened into all-out confrontation following Brussels’ decision final month to punish the rightwing governments in Warsaw and Budapest for their rejection of migrant quotas and alleged disregard for EU values.
The Observer is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper, founded in 1791. It is published by Guardian News & Media and is editorially independent.
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Source: theguardian.com