Ad
As the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi once wrote: 'Only he who has no use for the empire is fit to be entrusted with it'

Column

How 'imperial' is the EU, really?

Is the European Union an empire? Until recently, the question was considered absurd. An "empire" was something negative, associated with autocracy, conquest, exploitation, and unlimited displays of power.

Everything, in short, that Europe was not.

But things are changing. The EU is tough with the UK, it closed its external borders during the pandemic, started screening foreign investment, and fights jihadism all the way in Mali.

Suddenly people say: 'The EU behaves like an...

Get EU news that matters

Back our independent journalism by becoming a supporting member

Already a member? Login here

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s, not those of EUobserver

Author Bio

Caroline de Gruyter is a Europe correspondent and columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad. This article has been adapted from one of her columns in NRC. In March, her new book It Will Not Get Better will be published, in Dutch.

As the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi once wrote: 'Only he who has no use for the empire is fit to be entrusted with it'

Tags

Author Bio

Caroline de Gruyter is a Europe correspondent and columnist for the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad. This article has been adapted from one of her columns in NRC. In March, her new book It Will Not Get Better will be published, in Dutch.

Ad

Related articles

Ad
Ad