Europe’s liberal order threatened from the east and the west

The continent, and not just the EU, prizes rules and co-operation, but the US and China favour a bullying approach that benefits themselves alone, says Ana Palacio.

The global financial crisis, which began ten years ago this month, showed that the Western-led, rules-based, international order’s long-term survival is not inevitable.

It is often assumed that if, and when, the United States loses its place as the global hegemon in that system, China will be the country to lead the world. But what would a Chinese-led order look like?