In 30 years the image Europe presents to the world could be similar to that of present-day Venice, said Karel Schwarzenberg in his talk by way of provocation. The Czech Foreign Minister painted a dark picture of the continent's future in this first of the "Debate on Europe" lecture series at the Allianz Cultural Foundation.

In such a future all of Europe's tourist attractions, classical architecture, artistic and cultural monuments would live on merely as artifacts of bygone eras of economic and political achievements. "A few elderly citizens here or there might still remember the days when the world looked up to the industrial, cultural, and social achievements of Europe", but by then the main role for Europeans would simply be to welcome all the tourists from Asia, Russia, and Brazil and make their stay in the old world as pleasant as possible.

Schwarzenberg, who is currently President of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council called for increased efforts in Europe in the areas of education and research. European institutions have slipped badly in the current world rankings of institutions of higher education. If this continues, Schwarzenberg fears, Europe's influence will rapidly wane as the competing economic powers overtake the European Community.

In his view, the long era of guaranteed prosperity for Europe has passed: "The good old days of security and prosperity are over. The EU has to become a common marketplace of ideas and talent. Europe represents a dream, but it is a dream that has to be made real".

Foreign Minister Steinmeier agrees with Schwarzenberg about the "end of the old certainties". As he sees it, the EU will only be able to play a decisive role in responding to future geopolitical challenges such as climate change, scarce resources, immigration, and terrorism if it remains strong and focuses on speaking with a unified voice.

The financial crisis has recently shown that Europe can provide leadership when the EU acts in concert. European ideas on how to restructure the world financial system were taken seriously at the world financial summit, the Foreign Minister believes, because those suggestions were presented in a coherent voice.

Steinmeier points to the EU's leadership role in the area of climate protection: "Europe has set benchmarks and has kept its word", said the Vice-Chancellor. He also counts as diplomatic successes the resolution of the Caucasus conflict in Georgia and the agreement between Russia and the Ukraine during the gas conflict this winter: "Gas is flowing again and there is solidarity with the countries that were most directly affected".

Of course there is no reason to be self-satisfied, he warns, especially in light of the growing challenges that Europe is facing. But as Steinmeier sees it, despite all today’s problems, as a form of political organization the EU can serve as an important model for intergovernmental cooperation in Asia, Latin American, or Africa.

The power of the idea by which peaceful cooperation is nurtured among nations, grounded in human rights, has gained a footing and become a hallmark and not just in Europe. But according to Steinmeier, complacency must be avoided at all costs: "The promise of the Treaty of Lisbon must be fulfilled", said the Vice-Chancellor, to ensure that Europe remains competitive economically and is able to meet future challenges".

For Bruno Le Maire, Germany and France will play a key role in meeting the challenges facing Europe in the future: "If things don't work out between Germany and France, you can forget about Europe", said the French Minister of State responsible for European Affairs. Le Maire sees three structural preconditions as central to a successful joint European foreign policy in the future:

1. Europe needs strong institutions so that it can respond effectively to urgent current problems.

2. Europe's internal unity must be deepened to ensure that it speaks with one voice. The EU can only set guidelines for the world when it is unified within itself. The recent financial crisis has provided a perfect example of this.

3. Europe must collectively represent the EU's values and elaborate a common perspective for addressing problems. As the energy crisis has demonstrated, it does not benefit Europe to have individual member states drafting strategies that can potentially worsen the situation for other EU states.

All three speakers were agreed that Europe still has much work to do in protecting its common interests. Perhaps never before has the Community faced greater challenges than in the current crisis. The EU must evolve more rapidly if it is to retain its role as an indispensable dialog partner in a world in which the centers of power are being reconfigured and displaced at a considerable rate.

The second of the "Debate on Europe" lecture series sponsored by the Allianz Cultural Foundation will thus address one of the emerging centers in the newly emerging world power structure: the Gulf region. This region will be the focus of the February 1 talk at the State Opera and the specific topic of debate will be: "Europe Offshore or New Centers of Global Culture in the Gulf?".