The Stars of Europe

No, this has not been a banner year for Europe Inc. Economic growth in the European Union in 2003 will be lucky to clock in at 1%. In contrast, Asian economies are showing signs of recovery, despite the recent SARS panic. And in fits and starts, the U.S. is slowly climbing out of its post-dot-com bubble and post-September 11 slump. Europe alone has remained at the starting gate.

It's almost as if Europeans have been taking on too much. This past year has seen feverish preparations for the expansion of the EU to include 10 new nations in mid-2004. At the same time, the Iraq conflict sparked an unprecedented political identity crisis within Europe. Tempers flared as governments rushed to take sides in the runup to hostilities. Despite fence-mending and the unanimous adoption by European states in late June of a draft EU constitution, tensions lie just below the surface.