Peace is the EU's greatest achievement. In this conflictual world, it's time to remember its perks.
Guest-Article by Alexandre Météreau
Destroyed apartment building in Ukraine
This residential building near Kiev was burnt out after a missile attack.
It would be an understatement to say that the world is going through a turbulent phase.
The war in Ukraine, the overall tensions in Africa and the Middle East, the Israel-Hamas conflict, the migration crisis, and political violence on both sides of the Atlantic.
This perilous situation happening all around Europe offers a stark contrast: EU citizens are probably the safest people on earth today.
The biggest achievement of the European Union was the uninterrupted 70 years of peace that we enjoy today—the longest peace period ever on the Continent.
I’m not saying that the EU is without its problems. But heated conflict is not one of them.
In this very short article, I will not attempt to explain the reason for the contrast between the EU’s safety and the disastrous state of the world. I will simply draw your attention to this very simple fact: the EU's main achievement is peace. And that’s something we should be proud of.
The benefits of peace
Peace has its perks.
First, peace saves lives. Have you ever been woken up at night by the sound of alarms, forced to shelter in the cellar of your building, or to find refuge in a shelter? I certainly didn’t. And yet, that’s the everyday lives of Ukrainians, just a few hours' flight from us.
Second, peace brings people together. When my grandfather was just a kid, he had to hide from the German soldiers wandering the fields of occupied France. A few years later, the local farm “hosted” a German war prisoner. Nowadays, I couldn’t care less if my neighbours were German.
Third, peace brings economic benefits. Businesses need stability to operate. Never do EU citizens have to worry about power shortages. We have functioning welfare states, working hospitals, a thriving civil society, business opportunities… Sure, there are serious issues we have to solve. But we can worry about them because we solved this most pressing problem.
Peace is a way to reconcile voters with the EU
And that’s just a few of the benefits of peace that we Europeans take for granted. Only a fraction of the world can enjoy these privileges.
Let’s show how great the European project is by reminding our families and our friends of these truths.
The European Union is an island of peace in a world at war. Let’s preserve it, let’s reinforce it, let’s promote it.
The article was originally published by Alexandre Météreau on his blog "The Beubble": https://thebeubble.substack.com/p/the-world-is-going-down-to-flames
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