Celebrating May 9 as Europe Day is, above all, a reminder of the glorious legacy of European integration, which brought peace and reconciliation to European countries after the two collective suicides of the first half of the 20th century. However, eighty years after the end of World War II, the extreme importance of May 9 this year should be emphasized, as it coincides with celebrations in Moscow marking the surrender of the Third Reich, known as “Victory Day” in Russia.

These are two opposing visions of the world. Europe’s vision, as set out in Robert Schuman’s Declaration seventy-five years ago, is one of peace, openness, and freedom. However, due to its success and attraction in Eastern Europe, Putin wants to destroy it. Today, the European project is under threat in Ukraine; tomorrow, it will be under threat along its entire eastern border.

The threat is even broader. For years, the political and legal principles of liberal democracy that the European Union is founded on have been under attack. Internally, neo-nationalist movements that oppose political liberalism are challenging European values and adopting Putin or Trump as role models. Internationally, the EU is the only major power—at least economically—that isn’t dominated by authoritarian political power or oligarchic rule. Just over a hundred days after Trump returned to the White House, it has become clear that the new U.S. administration is also engaged in an ideological and cultural war against the “values” and principles of political liberalism and the social market economy on which the EU was founded. The Munich Security Conference held last February revealed this fracture within the........

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