Will 2017 be turning point for European integration?

LONGER THE WAIT WORSE IT GETS

Former UK deputy prime minister Nick Clegg takes a doomsday approach to the rise of populism and has called on the EU to fight back.

For him, people like UKIP's Farage are united by their absolute loathing of all supra-national institutions and arrangements.

Clegg went further, describing populism a "staunch and stark" attack on the founding principles of EU integration by forces who want to see the EU unwound altogether.

Clegg warned, "It would be a big mistake for Brussels to think all it needs to do now is defend the battlements of the EU, muddle through and that all will be well. If it thinks that then I really do fear it could spell the end of the EU itself."

For some, the answer is for the soon-to-be EU27 to reform and strengthen. Reform, it is argued, might include a "complete" fiscal union and changes to the rules on the free movement of people, including an "emergency brake" on migration where necessary.

In a situation in which terrorism and growing polarization across Europe is creating fear among the public, national governments, the EU institutions and NATO are re-thinking how to address this threat. As of now, they have not come up with an answer and the longer they wait, the worse the situation will become.