>What opportunities and challenges are Europeans presented with at the dawn of the twenty-first century? Chapter 30 examines the challenges and opportunities Europeans faced in the decades following the end of the Cold War. The revolutions of 1989 had opened a new chapter in European and world history and also opened many possibilities, but the new era also brought problems and tragedies. In addition, across the West and around the world, globalization, the digital revolution, and the ongoing flow of immigrants into western Europe had impacts both positive and negative. As Europeans faced serious tensions and complex changes in the twenty-first century, they also came together to form a strong new European Union that would prove a formidable economic competitor to the United States. Ties between western Europe and the United States began to loosen, but Europe and North America — as well as the rest of the world — confronted common challenges, challenges that would require innovation as well as creative cooperation.