Words and Acts 110 years ago the Flemish poet Willem Elsschot described a broken marriage in a way that remains part of the Flemish collective memory up to this day: "For between dream and act there are hindering laws and practical issues". The latter prevented the husband from killing his wife. Surely, the situation in the EU is not quite that drastic. Nevertheless: Elsschot's sentence describes the relational disorder in the EU very aptly. Practical issues arise because of Poland and Hungary’s veto against linking the EU budget to the rule of law. This doesn’t only occur at the worst possible time; it also calls into question the very fundament of the European Union marriage. It is highly questionable whether a solution worth that name will be found on the EU summit of 10 December. There are also diverging ideas about the EU's future plans. France has long been dreaming of European sovereignty (including military sovereignty). With Joe Biden’s election, Germany is rather playing the card of multilateral cooperation.
Elsschot, by the way, was a representative of the illusionless, unromantic and sober art movement called "new objectivity". Perhaps the EU should orient itself along these lines.
Dr. Bert van Roosebeke
Head of Deparment
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