Expert Perspective

　　

When walking along the banks of the Danube on the streets of Budapest, one can easily be infected with the glory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the past along with the scenery along the way. Those magnificent buildings can hardly remind people of the political entity that once dominated Central Europe but eventually disintegrated after World War I. Today, we are fortunate to witness the rise of another somewhat weird federal government-the European Union; its inherent centrifugal force makes the European Union itself drift away from its dream of unifying the European continent.

    After spending a long weekend in Hungary, I have established some preliminary understanding of the current unstable factors facing the EU. This country with a population of about 10 million and located between the European Union and Russia has historically been oppressed by the Tsarist Empire, and the relationship between the two countries is hardly friendly.

    But in recent years, this situation seems to be changing. As shown on the cover, the meeting between the Hungarian Prime Minister and Russian leader Putin in Moscow shows that the relations between the two countries are gradually warming up in politics.

    After discussing with the local Hungarians, I realized that everyone from shop owners to government officials had a strong reaction to Hungary's interaction with Moscow. I can understand why Putin regards the Hungarian leader as his strong supporter within NATO and the EU: Hungarian Prime Minister Orban is in the EU because he controls the media, undermines political opposition, and other actions that violate the political ideals of "liberal democracy". In the internal censure.

    A similar trend is also reflected in Poland. Due to suspicion of being interfered by the country’s government, Poland’s judicial system was excluded from the jurisdiction of the European Union some time ago. In Italy, the “anti-EU” government, which has been dissatisfied with fiscal jurisdiction and immigration policies for a long time, has succeeded in stabilizing their roots in the country.

    Of course, the most affected by the European Union is the United Kingdom. Obviously, out of fear of the foreseeable structural uncertainty, the British government led by May has been vacillating on the matter of "exiting the European Union". Although some politicians are actively pushing for a new round of Brexit referendum, Brexit of the world's fifth largest economy in 2019 is almost a foregone conclusion.

    For the United States, which has benefited from European integration for many years, the above news is not good news. A unified European continent can provide the world with the largest market, and a powerful coalition army, second only to the U.S. defense budget, and the same values of democracy and freedom, make the European Union a rare and powerful ally of the United States.

    However, despite the efforts of France and Germany to promote the long-term development of the European Union, undercurrents undermining the unification of the European Union are also surging. Russia, needless to say, will be the biggest beneficiary of this situation. In the foreseeable future, Putin's government will do everything possible to make this happen.

    Under such circumstances, how can the United States reverse the decline of the European Union?

    First of all, based on years of work experience, I can affirm that, apart from excessive interference and publicity, the EU still needs the leadership and help of the United States. The United States not only needs to interact with high-level European countries, but also needs to discuss some micro-levels: assistance and interaction with the European Union and the European Parliament, trade and cultural propaganda, coordination with the World Bank and the International Monetary Organization on European policies, Both can protect the EU system.

    Second, as the core of the military strategy to unify Europe, the interaction between NATO and EU countries constitutes a basic guarantee for the security of the European region. Any U.S. aid to NATO will ultimately help the unification of the European continent. Even in some countries that are hostile to the EU, such as Hungary, NATO is still their rare umbrella. In communicating with the Hungarians, I felt their trust in NATO time and time again. Even if the Hungarian-Russian relations are getting warmer driven by the current government, the Hungarians still cannot forget the fear that Chen Bing brought them to the Soviet Union on the border during the Cold War.

    Based on the trust and dependence of European countries on NATO, we not only need to strengthen NATO’s influence on European security in Hungary, but also need to enhance NATO’s presence in other European countries that are skeptical of the EU.

    Through military exercises, promotion of local officers to the top NATO, and promotion of military exchanges, I believe we can easily do this. As a bridge connecting the two sides of the Atlantic for military exchanges, NATO is undoubtedly an important link in promoting the development of the European Union.

    Finally, the United States should continue its economic and trade cooperation with the EU in a broad sense. A set of transatlantic trade and investment agreements may be able to help the United States re-establish trade ties with European countries. Although the Trump administration is not very interested in multilateral trade agreements, the establishment of a transatlantic trade agreement is still necessary—especially considering Russia’s recent destructive actions against the European Union.

    As Russia attempts to destroy Europe, the EU’s institutional flaws are being infinitely magnified by the predicament it has fallen into. Therefore, as an ally of the European Union for many years, the United States has an obligation to help Europe.