The headlines are filled with grave proclamations about the future of the European Union. Recent Italian elections swept eurosceptic parties into office, a vocal Front National in France is taking inspiration from President Trump while Eastern and Central European states band together to defy the E.U. on immigration.

But are things really as bad as they seem? Maybe collective governance of 28 member nations is bound to be messy, and maybe some pressure is just what the E.U. needs to revitalize its mission a quarter-century after its founding.

Helping us perform a health check on the E.U. are:

• Mai'a Davis Cross, professor of political science at Northeastern University and author of “The Politics of Crisis in Europe” 
• Ivan Berend, distinguished research professor at UCLA and author of “The Contemporary Crisis of the European Union: Prospects for the Future"

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Taped: March 13, 2018

Hosted by Luke Vargas.