Süddeutsche Zeitung: "There are little than 2 years left to save the EU"
12.01.2026 tysol/s-ddeutsche-zeitung-on-save-ue-was-incomplete-two-years
The European Union may not last as it stands today, warns the German paper Süddeutsche Zeitung. According to the author of the column ed. Josef Kelnberger, the next 2 years will be crucial, especially the elections in France and Poland in 2027. If the right wins, the EU's liberal task can fall apart.
The 5th Horseman of the Apocalypse and the imagination of the EU falling
In the text published on January 12, 2026, Josef Kelnberger writes that the German public debate present is threatened by "the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse" – an increase in support for the "overland right", the economical crisis, planet war and climate disaster. Each of them has, ironically, an author's face. Donald Trump.
At the same time, as he points out, the 5th rider of the apocalypse is ignored: the collapse of the European Union, which may take place in 2 years.
The EU as an alliance of liberal democratic states will die if the right wing wins in the elections in France and Poland in 2027 – alarmed Kelnberger.
Key France and Poland
According to the publicist, the triumph of the right in these 2 countries would trigger the domino effect. He argues that Vladimir Putin, Trump and Xi Jinping “will fight for the spoils” and that Europe is in danger of losing political cohesion.
The author besides warns against consequences for Germany. According to him, in specified a scenario, the AfD may come to power, directing a state with “the strongest army on a crumbling continent”.
Fear in Brussels
Kelnberger points out that the imagination of EU decay is not just a public fantasy. He writes that akin concerns are increasingly emerging in the talks of "influential people in Brussels". However, it complains that "no 1 in Europe seems to be seriously worried about the EU".
And there are reasons for panic. Only through a well-functioning EU can a liberal European model of life be defended.
“Epigon Kaczyński alternatively of Tusk”
The columnist recalls the popular saying in Brussels that "Europe arises in times of crisis". This was the case in the creation of the euro area or common debts during the pandemic. This time, however, the situation may be different.
However, there are serious reasons to believe that the current crisis is simply a major crisis that will not contribute to the improvement of Europe, but will lead to its break-up (...) Hungary, under Viktor Orban, has long departed from the EU's basic consensus on the principles of the regulation of law, climate protection and as a consequence of humanitarian migration policy. Slovakia seems to follow a akin path. If as a measurement of support for Ukraine, the Czech Republic has besides detached. Italian Giorgia Meloni inactive remains in conservative mainstream, but that will most likely change if Jordan Bardella is ruled in France alternatively of Emmanuel Macron and in Poland Kaczyński's epigon alternatively of Donald Tusk. Then the EU would turn right. And Europe would, in the long term, become a collection of countries mainly led by right-wing nationalist forces, without a joint project.
Two years left.
According to the author, the European Union is “under 2 years old” to prove to citizens that it works and provides real protection. It points out that individual states would be helpless against the challenges of today. The EU-Mercosur agreement, however, points out as a affirmative emphasis that "this is only the first tiny step".
By 2027, the European economy should increase significantly, a fresh budget of 2 trillion euros should be ready and a common asylum strategy should be operational. It besides adds that "the EU needs a common policy", pointing to "a European army that would be the eventual binder of the alliance".
This is the image of the European Union, which seems obsolete. It urgently needs a signal for change, says Josef Kelnberger.
