Tel Aviv - At a symposium jointly organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Israel Council on Foreign Relations, which operates under the auspices of the World Jewish Congress, Prof. Yehuda Bauer suggested that total cultural integration in Europe was unattainable but that the "aim is less important than the road" to that goal. The event, organized as part of the activities of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, was attended by a capacity audience, including the ambassadors of nearly a dozen European countries. Prof. Bauer, the doyen of Holocaust studies in Israel, was awarded the WJC Nahum Goldmann medal. 
Previous recipients of that coveted award recognizing great achievements in various fields of human endeavor include Helen Suzman, Sir Isaiah Berlin, Gerhart Riegner, and Carl Sagan. The inscription on the medal paid tribute to Bauer's "outstanding contributions to Jewish scholarship and education."
At the symposium, entitled "Whither Europe: Has the Death Knell of Liberalism and Tolerance been Sounded?" a spirited debate took place on the future of Europe. Prof. Sharon Pardo presented an upbeat view, despite the EU's many challenges, calling it "a global beacon of liberalism and tolerance." He maintained that the global order is being shaped in the EU and that "Europe's hour has come." He noted that 55% of the population of Israel are potential EU citizens, the highest such bloc anywhere in the world, and that according to recent polling data, vast numbers of Israelis would be in favor of Israel joining the EU. The Head of the EU Delegation to Israel, Amb. Emanuele Giaufret, maintained that the EU is emerging from the crises that buffeted it in recent years, including Brexit and mass migration. The lesson learned, he said, is for the EU to remain loyal to its values, and it will move ahead with "principled pragmatism in external relations."
Dr. Amichai Magen took issue with the optimism of Prof. Pardo and Amb. Giaufret, presenting a bleak forecast of the future of the EU. He pointed to the disparity between EU elites and their constituents and warned that the EU must create an authentic sense of commitment to the European project through participatory and democratic politics. If not, he said, the "short-term calm will prove to be dangerous complacency."
