“These values are not idealistic”: can the EU still defend its principles? | Dr Berit Ebert
In the latest episode of The Intelligence Spotlight, we spoke with Dr Berit Ebert, political scientist and faculty member at Bard College Berlin, liberal arts university in Berlin, about whether the EU can still uphold the principles it so often presents as foundational: democracy, the rule of law, equality, and rights protection. As Dr Berit Ebert explained, these values are not simply rhetorical language in the treaties. They were built into the EU’s political evolution as the bloc moved beyond an economic project and took on broader political responsibility.
Our conversation explored the growing pressures on those values across Europe. We discussed democratic backsliding in countries such as Hungary and Poland, the rise of right-wing extremism, and the way migration has become a political weapon rather than a serious policy debate. Dr Berit Ebert argued that migration is often used as a catch-all issue by parties seeking to exploit fear, while deeper threats to democracy, especially polarisation and information manipulation, receive less honest attention.
A particularly important part of the episode focused on the limits of EU foreign policy. Dr Berit Ebert noted that while the EU can act forcefully in economic matters, foreign and security policy still rests largely with member states. That makes it much harder to speak with one voice during major international crises, including the current tensions involving Iran. In her view, this is one of the clearest gaps between the EU’s stated values and its practical political power.
And yet the episode was not without hope. For Dr Berit Ebert, the enduring strength of the European Union lies not only in its institutions but in its people. She described the EU as a success model in one crucial respect: it has preserved peace among its member states for decades, something Europe had never managed before on this scale. Whatever its contradictions, the EU remains something worth defending and improving.
