Good morning,
Year after year, the media frames the year ahead as a test for the EU. And every year, the questions seem to be harder and the stakes higher.
A key question for this 2026 is whether Europe can adapt and define its place in a world that seems no longer dominated by a rules-based order, but by raw power, fragmentation, and uncertainty. The answer, still being written, may determine whether the EU plays a leading role or remains just a spectator.
If Gaza in 2025 made clear that leverage trumps international law, Venezuela in 2026 offers a stark reminder of this shift.
Influence today flows from the ability to mobilise power — be it economic, political and, when necessary, military — and not from any moral compass or democratic rationale that the EU claims to have.
Despite proving difficult for various European leaders, one can agree that it's compatible to criticise the US for violating international law and the UN charter, recognise that Washington's main priority is not to liberate Venezuelans, acknowledge the legal, economic and geopolitical complexity of such an operation — and celebrate the fall of Maduro’s regime given his track record of human rights abuses in the country. No dilemma whatsoever.
Fragmentation also plays a role. It is visible not only with global crises like Venezuela or Gaza, but also noticeable by the EU’s hesitant and weak responses to its own internal challenges, from migration and enlargement to rule‑of‑law disputes and economic governance.
The EU spends precious time negotiating its internal position while others move fast to shape what happens on the ground. But we are at a moment in history where speed often decides whose narrative and interests prevail. Propaganda and disinformation is spreading like a virus, driving polarisation and leaving societies more vulnerable to fear and manipulation.
Finally, we are also navigating the dark waters of uncertainty, a new era in which economic coercion and the tyranny of populism are flourishing as traditional norms weaken.
This year, EUobserver will keep trying to make sense of this crazy world, bear with us as we navigate the storms, keep those in power accountable and track how Europe responds — and what that means.
- Elena Sánchez Nicolás, editor-in-chief
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