The European Commission's new president-elect has laid out an ambitious vision for the bloc's future. A challenging economic and political environment, however, will likely keep most of her proposals from ever seeing daylight.
If the two countries cannot reach an agreement before the current agreement expires Dec. 31, Russian gas deliveries to Europe via Ukraine could well experience interruptions.
Polish voters elect a new parliament this fall, while Romanians vote for president. The results could make it harder for Warsaw and Bucharest to cooperate with Brussels.
Many factors bind the West together, but the global great power competition is gradually complicating the relationship between Europe and the United States.
By Sim Tack
The number of migrants reaching Europe is nowhere near what it was in 2015. But that hasn't kept Rome from rebelling against what it sees as the bloc's unfair asylum system.
Significant negotiations will probably take place in the coming days to make sure that Continental lawmakers ratify the nominations for the top spots in the European Union.
Both blocs will require unanimous consent for ratification. But securing yes votes from all member states will be a tall order.
The United States has been pressing its EU allies to ramp up defense efforts for a while. But now that the bloc is doing just that -- and without U.S. help -- Washington isn't pleased.
Despite the U.S.'s best efforts, no EU country has yet to outright blacklist the Chinese telecom giant. And since Huawei remains the surest bet for a fast and easy 5G rollout, they likely never will.
U.S. and EU lawmakers have pledged new sanctions against Moscow on a number of issues. That doesn't bode well for Russia-West relations in the year to come.
