Last week, the U.K. reached a new agreement with the European Union aimed at resolving their long-running dispute over trade rules for Northern Ireland under the Brexit divorce deal. But it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to satisfy unionists in Northern Ireland as well as hard-line Brexiteers in London.
The European Union’s integration has often been driven by crisis. At the same time, not every problem confronting European policymakers has led to further integration. It is only when specific external threats become intertwined with tensions inside the EU that a moment of crisis can present policymakers with an existential choice.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has largely chosen caution over confrontation in Rome’s foreign policy. But when it comes to Italy’s position on the war in Ukraine, and by extension its bilateral relationship with Russia, her administration’s emphasis on continuity seems to be diverging from domestic public opinion.
