After eight years under a business-friendly and pro-EU government, the Poles, exhausted with the existing establishment, voted for a nationalist administration in a general election in October 2015. Some also believed the benefits of EU integration and economic liberalization were not equally distributed among the population.

Citizens in Europe are increasingly weary about the current execution of EU policies. They are largely dissatisfied with many of its current policies, and are keeping a close eye on what is being done. Also, they are much more informed about Europe. Finally, people seem to care deeply about who governs them. While support for the Union is high, policy support is not. Hence, a more attentive citizenry makes it even more important for the EU to perform not only in terms of outcomes, but also in terms of procedures.

This year's the EC Work Programme will deliver 23 key initiatives across 10 political priorities, 20 intended withdrawals or modifications of pending proposals and 40 REFIT actions to review the quality of existing EU legislation.

The Work Programme will deliver substantive legislative proposals to follow up on the strategic programmes adopted in 2015.

Written by Carl Bildt, Carl Bildt, Sweden’s foreign minister from 2006 to October 2014 and Prime Minister from 1991 to 1994, when he negotiated Sweden’s EU accession.

As the European Union prepares to enter the new year, it faces an almost perfect storm of political challenges. The strategy it has used in the past – barely muddling through a series of calamities – may no longer be enough.

The debate so far in Europe about the refugee crisis is characterised by a failure of leadership; by a failure to act together; by a failure to properly engage with the scale of the crisis. The refugee crisis is now the biggest challenge facing the EU. The failure of Europe to find agreement and to act decisively on the issue has the potential to dismantle the EU from within.

The Netherlands Presidency work programme focuses on four key areas: 

1. Migration and international Security, 
2. Sound finances and a robust eurozone, 
3. Europe as an innovator and job creator and 
4. Forward-looking climate and energy policy.

The presidency wants an EU that focuses on what matters to Europe's citizens and businesses, an EU that creates growth and jobs through innovation and connects with civil society. The presidency will promote action at EU level only if it is more effective than policies at national level.

Published by Stratfor

2016 is shaping up to be an unsettling year for much of the world. The United States and Russia are still locked in an intractable standoff. Nationalism is resurfacing in Europe. The price of oil and other commodities are low. Chinese consumption is falling. And countries around the world are more resolved than ever before to intensify their military campaigns against the Islamic State. But it is important to remember that all these trends are connected, and the way they play out this year could determine how tumultuous the world will be in 2016.

Japan and Europe are both democracies which not only share common values and interests, but also cooperate closely in international fora such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the G7 and G20. They are also accelerating negotiations for a strategic partnership agreement and a free trade deal which together promise to take their bilateral relationship to a new level.

Russian influence in the Member States’ parliaments, media and business as well as at the European Parliament is significant. Russia has found allies in Europe’s far-right (in some cases arguably far-left) parties, which fiercely oppose pan-nationalistic tendencies such as the EU and NATO. These parties are vocal supporters of Russia’s political system and claim that alliance with Russia would help them gain independence from the economic and political clutches of the European Union.

Article written by : Bruno Amoroso and Jesper Jespersen Roskilde University, Denmark.

The article has been edited.