First Brexit, then Trump and now the collapse of the Azure Window. Of course these are only three of many other man-made or naturally caused calamities afflicting us and our world over the span of just a few months. Naturally, there are those who perceive Brexit and President Trump in a positive manner though most, if not all, would agree that the loss of the Dwejra window is an irreversible tragedy not only for Malta but even beyond.

Although there is no way we could have stopped the natural process of erosion that led to the loss of this national treasure, it is a pity that the attempts to try to postpone the inevitable were frustrated by the usual lack of enforcement of measures aimed at minimising man-made risks that accelerated the natural process of erosion of the window. Unfortunately, effective enforcement is the only way to stop selfish and stupid individuals from engaging in irresponsible behaviour that can cause irreparable damage to our natural heritage.

A lot has been written and said in the wake of the demise of the Azure Window. I fully agree with those who claim that it is an opportunity for us to reconsider current projects that will result in a further erosion of our natural landscape. Gozo, in particular, needs to be preserved and, therefore, let’s really think twice before forging ahead with a project that will make the island an extension of Mellieħa.

In terms of the global and European landscape, we are getting used to tremors every so often. We are adjusting to having President Trump around for at least the next four years. In Europe, this week, Theresa May was authorised by the British Parliament to formally set in motion the process for the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. It is also the week where elections are being held in the Netherlands that may also be characterised by increased support for eurosceptic parties. By the time this article is printed, the final results of Wednesday’s elections should be out and we will see how well Geert Wilders has done.

France will be next. Marine Le Pen still looks likely to obtain the largest number of votes in the first round and then lose in the second round. However, the danger of her actually winning the presidency in four years’ time is a real one. The mess created by François Fillon is not helping.

For people to reconnect with a European ideal, we need to repropose the European project in a manner so as to make it attractive, appealing and relevant

Is the demise of the EU, therefore, as inevitable as that of our Azure Window? It may well be if we continue to allow those who choose to blame the EU for the mess in which some countries find themselves or for every evil that has been inflicted on our societies these past decades. When I listen to critics of the EU, I realise that more often than not, they are criticising the EU over something for which national authorities are to blame and not the EU itself or its institutions.

However, the worst thing one could do is to ignore such criticism. For a very long time, the European Union was perceived as the main factor that brought peace and prosperity to a continent that had been responsible for the outbreak of two world wars. When the European Economic Community was set up almost 60 years to date, the aim was not just to have a common market but to make another war between the participating nations impossible.

With many of us having been born well after the end of World War II, the idea of the EU as the guarantor of peace no longer resonates as it did in the 1950s and 1960s. For people to reconnect with a European ideal, we need to repropose the European project in a manner so as to make it attractive, appealing and relevant. The notion of Europe no longer excites as much as it did after 1945.

Moreover, the EU and its member states lack leaders who have the vision to take the European project forward enthusiastically and with determination. I still recall the moving images of French President François Mitterrand and then West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl at Verdun in 1984, their hands joined in a gesture of friendship symbolising the lessons learned from a terrible past. During a meeting I recently had with Elisabeth Guigou, currently president of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the French National Assembly and a former minister for European Affairs and senior advisor to Mitterand, she recalled how during their many meetings, both leaders would always speak about their wartime experiences. Mitterand served as a soldier and was captured by the Germans during World War II. Kohl’s father fought in the Great War and Helmut and his brother Walter, both teenagers, were drafted into the Nazi army. The war ended before Helmut was deployed yet his brother was not so lucky and lost his life in combat.

What can the EU, therefore, stand for today? In a recently published white paper on the future of Europe, entitled ‘Avenues for unity for the EU at 27’, the European Commission presented five scenarios for how the Union could evolve by 2025. The white paper is intended as the Commission’s contribution to the summit that will take place in Rome on March 25 to mark the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community. The five scenarios vary from carrying on in more or less the current form to the EU as a mere single market. Other scenarios consist of a Union where a number of member states can choose to do more or a Union where less is done together yet done more efficiently and, finally, a Union where member states decide to share more power, resources and decision-making across the board and with decisions being taken faster at European level and rapidly enforced.

Although the media did cover the publication of this white paper, so far, I have not seen much attention being given to what it represents in terms of the debate of the future of the EU. In my view, whatever scenario we consider should aim at consolidating the achievements of the past 67 years. Ideally too, the 27 should remain in it together rather than creating different categories of members. I sincerely hope that a healthy discussion on the future of the EU takes place in the coming weeks, months and years and provides Europeans with the opportunity to reconnect with a project that still represents the best opportunity we have to live in peace and prosperity.