The European Union in Turbulent Times: Challenges, Trends, and Significance for Israel

With permission, Read full study on INSS.

http://www.inss.org.il/publication/the-european-union-in-turbulent-times-challenges-trends-and-significance-for-israel/

Prominent among the leading issues confronting the European community over the past decade is the migration challenge, which has sparked profound political disputes between and within the countries of the European Union. The waves of migrants have reignited xenophobic, racist, and anti-Semitic sentiments with new fervor, and led to the strengthening of nationalist and populist right movements. These trends have been aggravated as a result of terrorist actions motivated by radical Islam.

Changes in the international arena are also challenging the European community. The readiness of Russia to use military force has given new life to the threat o the Cold War. An increasingly powerful China is utilizing trade agreements to drive a wedge between European countries. Relations between Turkey and the EU are more and more strained,not unlike the suspicious relations between the European community and the Sunni Gulf states. These issues are particularly salient against the background of the growing estrangement of the United States, under President Trump, from the EU.

Despite progress in economic relations between Europe and Israel, the EU continues to adhere to its staunch criticism of Israel with respect to the Israeli-Palestinian conflcit. This near-automatic political orientation makes it difficult or Israel to regard the EU as an unbiased mediator, especially in view o the activity of the delegitimization movement against Israel and the awakening of anti-Semitism against European Jews.

Contents:

Preface 7

Acknowledgments 11

The European Union and the Challenges of Globalization

The EU: Challenges at Home and Abroad
Shimon Stein 15

The EU in the Shadow of the Immigration Crisis
Yotam Rosner and Adi Kantor 27

The Current Terrorism Threat in Europe
Yoram Schweitzer 37

The Populist Radical Right in Europe
Yotam Rosner 49

Relations between the European Union and the Superpowers

EU-US Relations in the Trump Era
Oded Eran, Yotam Rosner, and Rotem Oreg 61

A House Divided: How the Russian Question Polarizes EU-rope
Anastassiya Reshetnyak 71

China-Europe Relations: Opportunities and Risks
Doron Ella 81