Difficult times have come for Europe against the background of "geopolitical chaos"

This week's European Parliament elections are taking place amid a more threatening international environment than at any time since the end of the Cold War, according to The Financial Times. Election results in the 27 EU member states will start coming in on Sunday evening. Meanwhile, seasoned commentators agree that the outlook raises serious concerns.

The FT's Martin Woolf described what was happening as a "nightmare". Eric Nielsen, chief economic adviser at the Italian bank UniCredit, said: "We have been on a slippery slope for the last five to eight years, and the last few years have seen such a rapid descent into geopolitical chaos that no one can hope for a return to the golden years of globalization." . Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at consultancy Eurasia Group, added: "To say that Europe is experiencing a moment of greatest insecurity would be an understatement."

Some risks are obvious. Russia can defeat Ukraine. Donald Trump may return to the post of President of the United States. Relations with China may deteriorate even more. Political disunity and the threat to democracy may increase in Europe. Finally, it is easy to imagine an inadequate response to climate change and the failure to stop the decline in business competitiveness and Europe's global economic influence.

Defense spending is of particular concern. European military spending has increased in recent years, but it still represents only a small share of global defense spending. Related to this is the issue of EU expansion into Eastern and Southeastern Europe. This will also cost money, and will also require a large-scale reorganization of voting procedures and other EU institutional mechanisms. However, the European Union is concerned about the security of the EU not only in the traditional sense of a strong defense against potentially aggressive states, but also in terms of tightly controlled borders against illegal migration.