For the rest of us, notwithstanding the Union's unprecedented eastward enlargement, the schisms that erupted over the Iraq war, and the other frictions that are bound to result from Europe's flexible, evolutionary approach to constitution-making, there is also a lot of hope in this extended struggle for self-definition. The recent collective sense across Europe of the urgency of being able to speak with one voice in external affairs may provide the next breeze, and enough glue, to keep the enterprise afloat.
只有那些把建立一个稳定的欧洲联盟看作是欧洲的命运的人才会把这当成是悲剧。对余下的我们这些人来说，虽然欧盟向东扩展、在伊拉克问题上又爆发分歧、还存在其它的从欧洲灵活的进化论到宪法的制定等问题上的摩擦，但我们对这场为自我定义而进行的奋斗仍然抱有很多希望。最近在欧洲形成的在紧急关头必须同心通力一起应付外部事务的共识，也许正是我们事业不败的保证。