5 main challenges facing the European Union in 2024

according to Tasnim news international group, Deutsche Welle In an article, Germany discussed 5 important challenges that await Europe in 2024.

Russian War

DW considers the war in Ukraine as the first challenge facing the European Union and wrote: 27 member states of the European Union have repeatedly promised that they will help Ukraine as long as necessary to protect itself against Russia defends itself, because according to Brussels, Russia’s victory threatens the security of the entire Europe. But the question is whether the European Union will still adhere to this commitment in the next year? There is a collapsing correlation. The European Union faces many difficulties in reaching a unanimous decision on its financial aid to Ukraine. The European Union has so far left Ukraine to decide on negotiations with Russia. This strategy will probably be questioned in 2024.

Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Union Commission, says: Our goal should remain a just and lasting peace. Stay, not another frozen conflict. According to him, the best way to create stability and prosperity in Ukraine is to join the European Union. He believes that Europe is the solution for improving Ukraine.

European Union expansion

In this way, Ursula von der Leyen deals with a remarkable project in the European Union. Accession negotiations with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova are scheduled to begin in 2024. The annexation of war-torn Ukraine will entail huge costs for the EU. That is why Ukraine’s great political friends, such as Poland and the Baltic states, are confused in this situation. They can then turn from net recipients to net payers in the common European budget. EU officials are trying to assure that these talks will begin, but accession is still years, if not decades, away.

Western Balkan countries all They want to join the European Union and some of them have been standing in line for 20 years. They are watching with skepticism the record-breaking pace of the progress of Ukraine’s and Moldova’s accession efforts. Negro, Albania and North Macedonia to be determined. Serbia and Kosovo’s prospects for accession appear relatively dim as ethnic conflicts cripple any progress. Bosnia and Herzegovina is also trying to get out of the status of a dysfunctional country. The biggest obstacle here is Russia’s conflict between Bosnian Serbs and other ethnic groups.

EU internal reforms

DW further wrote: Before the European Union accepts new member states, the decision-making and financing processes of the European Union must be completely reformed. French President Emmanuel Macron has long argued that only an independent and economically strong Europe would welcome new members. The German federal government has also tabled reform proposals that would require more decisions to be made by majority instead of unanimity.

It is not clear, according to EU diplomats, that Whether any of these will be implemented in 2024. Cancellation of unanimity requires a unanimous decision in advance. However, in recent years the EU has not been able to persuade the two notorious opponents – Hungary and Poland, who use their vetoes relentlessly. The proceedings did not reach a conclusion due to the lack of rule of law. In 2024, Hungarian Prime Minister and EU opponent Viktor Orbán will remain firmly in the saddle and resolute in Hungary. But in Poland there are hopes for harmony. There, former EU Council President Donald Tusk, a pro-European, is at the helm.

Also in 2004, about 20 years ago, Eight countries from Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Malta and Cyprus, joined the European Union at the same time. The EU then took its time with the Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force in 2009, and several agreements that are still the rules of procedure today. Do these contracts need to be adjusted? This debate will gain momentum in 2024.

Donald Trump

German-American Chamber of Commerce Donald Trump expects to impose punitive tariffs against Europe. In return, the EU should increase tariffs and taxes. The volume of trade and the economic growth of the parties will probably decrease.

There is also the question of whether Trump will make relations with China, the most important trading partner of many European Union countries, even worse. What will it do now? In this case, the world will become even more unstable than it already is, and this is a nightmare for many foreign policy experts in Brussels. Only one person is happy about this situation and that is Viktor Orban. The Prime Minister of Hungary considers Trump an ally in his fight for “illiberal” democracy.

European elections

At the beginning of June this year, about 400 million eligible voters will elect the European Parliament. Or it is better to say that about half of them, about 200 million people, participate in this election. The Christian Democratic parties are expected to win again, but the far-right and right-wing populist factions are also expected to grow.

According to the results of the Eurobarometer poll, the most important issue for voters is the status economic and their standard of living. Therefore, Ukraine, immigration, reform and expansion of the European Union are of secondary importance in the voting decision.

Ursula von der Leyen, a German politician, is expected The EU Commission remains. To do so, he must be approved by the EU Parliament. However, they must be proposed by the 27 governments of the EU member states.

In addition to the five main challenges, the EU is likely to face a number of other tasks in the coming year. will be busy The controversial reform of the asylum procedure, the so-called migration pact, must gain legal force. The European Union needs new rules for the national budget debt of the member states. Artificial intelligence regulation is overdue. More investments in green climate technology need to start and the search for money continues. It takes years. However, the member states of the European Union do not want a deep conflict between the northern donor countries and the eastern and southern recipient countries in the Union in disputes about this.

All These have made EU citizens relatively cold. Although they complain in a Eurobarometer survey that they have too little influence on Brussels’ decisions, they are nevertheless optimistic about the EU’s future prospects. 60% of respondents say this on average across the EU. Surprisingly, in France, as a founding member of the European Union, the optimism rate is below 50%, which is the lowest among all EU countries. Denmark leads with 86%. And in Germany: 58% of the surveyed people consider the development of the European Union in 2024 relatively positive.