ABSTRACT
The fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War led to new rounds of expansion of the European Union (EU), taking the EU farther north and—most significantly—farther east. The European project acquired a renewed importance, and the EC began to evolve in new and fundamental ways and prepares for expansion to include the states of Eastern once under the Soviet imperium, a move that would be a potent symbol of the end of the Cold War. The post–Cold War era has also brought significant deepening—a new joint currency (the euro), far-reaching institutional changes, and a more independent and vigorous foreign policy. Nevertheless, the inability of the EU to take more decisive action in the wake of both a severe financial crisis in the eurozone and an unprecedented refugee crisis exposed the limits of elite-led efforts to move the Union toward further integration.
