EU happily closes the books on tumultuous 2012

At the beginning of December, it still looked as if the EU would enter the new year more divided than ever before. Yet at the last EU summit a sense of momentum was palpable.

The union of European countries is no longer as fragile as it was at the beginning of the year, even if many problems do have yet to be solved. The debt crisis was 2012's dominant force, relegating everything else to a sideshow: the civil war in Syria, the sharpening of the Middle East conflict, the upheavals in Egypt.

Even for issues closer to home, such as the European integration of Serbia and other states of the former Yugoslavia, the EU had neither the attention nor the energy. Sometime soon, Croatia will become an EU member. Yet at the latest EU summit, Chancellor Merkel stated explicitly that it's the wrong time, due to the fact that "we'll be looking more closely at [Croatia's] economy and competitiveness."

Yet over the last few weeks, a sense of recognition seems to have dawned on all parties involved that they are, in fact, sitting in the same boat. The end of the year has brought wide-ranging consensus - a striking difference from the year's beginning.

The eurozone will not break apart; no country will exit; and even the long-term 'cost' of transfers from resilient countries to the not-so-resilient countries appears to have been agreed upon.

In exchange, receivers of such aid are obliged to structural reform. Without such joint measures of force, not only is the euro in danger, said Chancellor Merkel in a statement in Brussels in autumn, but Europe will become dependent on other regions of the world. "If we simply close our eyes, then together we can't guarantee prosperity for future generations," she said.

Read more: EU happily closes the books on tumultuous 2012 | Europe | DW.DE | 26.12.2012