Finance & economics | Falling stars

Europe could be torn apart by new divisions

The continent is at its most vulnerable in decades

The stars of the European Union flag falling down to the bottom of the flag.
Illustration: Carl Godfrey

Europe’s divisions were once simple. Fiscal policy and sunshine? That was a north-south carve-up: grey, abstemious north; sparkling, spendthrift south. Migration and wealth? Newcomers were mostly tolerated in the rich west and despised in the poor east. Only the wine-beer-vodka spectrum, which produced a twice-diagonal split, was more complex. When crisis struck, these familiar dividing lines helped. Predictable splits are easier to manage.

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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Falling stars”

From the January 11th 2025 edition

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