Society's capacity to learn(when forced) in matters of social democracy was the historic success of the trade unions and is their con­tribution to modem Europe. Accepting the challenge of further integrating(Western) Eu­rope and guarding against neo-liberal relap­ses means continuing the European project of the modem age into the 21st century. The Implosion of a Regime Incapable of Reform and its Repercussions in Europe In sharp contrast to the West European dy­namic, one finds the ossification and collapse of the communist regime. This large empire was caught in pre-modem and pre-democratic structures. Not least due to the suppression of political and social opposition movements, it was only able to attain the status of"a Mali with atomic bombs", as former chancellor Hel­mut Schmidt once expressed it. The demise of the communist regime has in­delibly changed the conditions of European integration. Assistance for the development of democratic structures and a more or less functioning economy, and the political integra­tion of Eastern Europe are exclusively the tasks of Western Europe. In contrast to the EC, the other two poles of the world economic triad- Japan and the US- will merely be able to offer modest aid. But, as always with challenges, future benefits are intimately bound up with current burdens. Thus, it is not surprising that the well-known American economist Lester Thurow(who has also made a name for himself as an adviser to the Demo­cratic Party) believes the 21st century will be­long to Europe if the Western half of the conti­nent can extend eastward its till now success­fully activated capacity for integration. Many conservatives are pushing for the spee­diest accession of as many East European states as possible into the EC. At the same time, they consider a European Political Union, such as the United States of Europe(an old goal of the workers movement), to be of the devil's making. Clearly, they see in the largest possible number of EC members a guarantee of Europe becoming at best a large economic sphere, but not a political and social union. In other words, the old game of the European na­tion states will be allowed to continue in splendid fashion; specifically, the continued practice of go it alone politics within a frame­work of changing coalitions and alliances. In opposition to this stands the legacy of Willy Brandt: "I see a Europe of uneven densities: Around the nucleus of our community, a ring of associated states and a further circle of states with whom a relationship of a qualified, ever closer cooperation develops." EC Europe enriched by the EFTA states will have to develop the strength for comprehens­ive aid to our neighbours. In view of the fact that European security risks have shifted from the military to the economic and social level following the implosion of the unreformable communist empire, this neighbourly assist­ance is first of all in the West's own interests. Secondly, it opens up for the trade unions an unbelievable opportunity for renewal. It is true that the risks and opportunities involved in creating European-wide trade unions are great. That is to say, unions which can suc­ceed in integrating the pre-democratic and pre-modem stage of development of the East into the social and economic structures of the post-industrial West. In their role as a force for social protection the trade unions are indispensible for Europe. To reproduce in the East what has already been successfully achieved in the West- the wel­fare state under a rule of law- is the historic opportunity confronting the trade unions. If Eu­ropean integration does not have an accom­panying social dimension, then Europe will have no democratic future. The trade unions could become essential participants if they are able to condense their two-fold task into a purposeful, forward-looking policy. 5