Peace in Europe is needed and possible. But as the Cold War of the last century demonstrated, there is a difference between an end to open hostilities and real peace. The best way to achieve the latter is through multilateral agreements that prioritize economic and trade cooperation and the common good.

This was the vision that Robert Schuman had in the aftermath of World War II. Today we recognize Schuman as a modern-day “Father of Europe.” But on May 9, 1950, when he was the French foreign minister, his proposal to invite Germany and other countries to form a cooperative European Coal and Steel Community — shrewdly creating a common market for the very commodities necessary for waging war — was dismissed by many as illusory. Communists attacked Schuman as a traitor of France.

Declared “Venerable” by Pope Francis in 2021, Schuman persevered, as great statesmen do. And over the next 75 years, his peace community grew into a 27-member European Union with a single market — the Schengen system — and a common currency.

Before his death in 1963, Schuman emphasized that “we must create Europe not only in the interests of free nations, but also to welcome the nations of the East, who, after being freed from the oppression to which they are subjected, will ask us for acceptance and our moral support.” The first democratic chancellor of Germany, Konrad Adenauer, thought similarly. “A united Europe,” he observed, “was the dream of a few, the desire of many and has become a necessity for all.”

However, for several reasons, the formation of a peaceful Europe remains an unfinished project. The now-three-year-old war in Ukraine testifies to this tragic reality.

The bloodshed must stop. Yet the nations of Western Europe are making a critical mistake if they applaud those who say the solution is to boost defense spending and rearm themselves. Indebted states and weakened economies will not be strengthened by this shift. With a policy of deterrence, we may win or at least achieve a draw in this Second Cold War, but we will surely not win peace.

The principles of the Schuman Plan have not been exhausted. They are like the roots from which the tree of the human community draw life. 

Transformation of relations begins with dialogue, which is now underway on the initiative of the new Trump administration in the United States. It is paramount, though, that these efforts be directed toward the creation of a new community of nations. 

In that vein, the dialogue between the United States and Russia should focus on establishing common markets, open to other countries and designed for the participants’ mutual benefit, for the crucial commodities needed to wage war. This would encompass not only natural resources and energy but information technologies and the protection of intellectual property. 

Such a Northern Hemisphere Community or West-East Community would connect Alaska with Kamchatka through Europe and Central Asia, spanning three continents — with Europe at its center. It would bring unprecedented development to the participating states, economies and regions.

This kind of framework need not supplant or rival the EU. But part of such a qualitative change, worthy of a more humane 21st century, is the need for a shared security architecture, which does not exclude a future defense alliance. 

This long-term vision is not about leaders, who come and go. Peace is in the interests of nations that persist and must shoulder the hardships of war and the burden of human losses. The value of a person goes beyond material dimensions. Therefore, it is important to seek the end of fratricidal devastation by seeking a new quality of relations, focused on the dignity of each person, family, nation and community. The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, has parents and a brother living in Moscow. They are Russians. This example speaks painfully.

This vision of rapprochement and cooperation between the West and the East will require a long and demanding process. It is in line with the image presented by the great Pope St. John Paul II of Europe breathing with both lungs — the West and the East. Today the West is sick with ethical relativism and new ideologies, and the East is bleeding in fratricidal conflict.

Perhaps such a vision may seem surprising or improbable at this moment, perhaps unacceptable to some. U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson wrote about the Schuman Plan in his memoirs as “a breathtaking step towards the unification of Western Europe, which he could not even understand at first.” Today we take the EU for granted.

We need such a breathtaking U-turn in the current situation. Crisis and ongoing tragedy of war may turn into a historical disaster or into a new beginning for the qualitative change of relations. Within the framework of such a Great Deal, an acceptable solution for peace in Ukraine, for the return of refugees and for the dynamic and successful reconstruction of the destroyed territories will also be found more easily and more quickly. 

We in the West need above all more wisdom and more courage for a reasonable and responsible policy, rather than only more money for ammunition and armaments. We need statesmen and leaders who see the big picture and look into the distance to future generations. 

Concerning the future, I recommend neither a cheap optimism, nor a dark pessimism, but first of all we must stay committed. Peace, security and prosperity in our civilizational space is possible and achievable!