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Europe's Four Big Challenges in 2019

undefined and Director of Analysis at RANE
Adriano Bosoni
Director of Analysis at RANE, Stratfor

Jan 10, 2019 | 10:00 GMT

Members of the European Parliament vote during a plenary session at the European Parliament on Dec. 11, 2018, in Strasbourg.

Members of the European Parliament vote during a plenary session at the European Parliament on Dec. 11, 2018, in Strasbourg. From concerns about the German government's stability to worries about Russia's energy politics, the bloc has many things to think about in 2019.

(FREDERICK FLORIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Highlights

  • Domestic constraints in the eurozone's four largest economies will limit their ability to cooperate at the Continental level.
  • 2019 will test the health of nationalist and populist political movements, which represent the main threat to the continuity of the European Union in its current form.
  • This year, the bloc will face three sources of economic risk: trade disputes with the United States, Brexit and economic fragility in Southern Europe.
  • The European Union will be under domestic and external pressure to limit Chinese access to strategic technology and resist Beijing's investments in infrastructure.
 

2019 is just over a week old, but it's already shaping up to be a busy one for Europe, which has a long to-do list to address as it grapples with political turbulence, slowing economic growth and tense relations with the world's superpowers. European leaders will contend with a host of issues, including Germany's unstable political coalition, the staying power of populism, Italy's economic woes, and concerns about China and Russia's looming presence over the European Union. Here are four trends that will shape Europe's political, economic and social agenda this year....

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