On Thursday, European leaders are gathering in Belgium to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I — the bloodbath that ended millions of European lives.
And killed 116,516 U.S. troops. And laid the groundwork for World War II.
The centenary ceremony in Ypres, Belgium, provides a good reminder that whenever relations among European nations break bad, the rest of us need to pay attention.
It's time to listen up again.
That's because the Flanders Fields Commemoration will be followed by a fractious European Union summit on Friday. European leaders had been expected to use their time together to discuss strengthening their economies and responding to Russia's aggression in Ukraine. But much of their energy will instead go to scrapping.
In fact, their feuding already is so intense that some analysts fear this summit could mark the beginning of the United Kingdom's slide out of the EU. An exit would dramatically change the political union designed to spread peace and prosperity across the English Channel and the European continent.
"If the U.K. left, it would fundamentally change the outlook of the EU," said Jacob Kirkegaard, an analyst with the Peterson Institute for International Economics. "The EU would become more protectionist and less global" without the U.S.-friendly attitude of the British people.
"That would be a very bad outcome for the U.S. because what you (Americans) want is an EU that is outward looking" and open to transatlantic trade, Kirkegaard said.
He notes that the EU, with roots stretching back some 60 years, has faced crises before. But its leaders have always found ways to muddle through and then draw closer — and he thinks that will happen again.
That view is shared by Danny Alexander, chief secretary to Britain's Treasury.
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