The Centre for European Reform proposes the following for making the European Commission stronger and more effective: " The EU cannot function well without a strong and independent European Commission. It needs the Commission to promote the single market, ensure that everybody follows the rules, protect the interests of small member-states against large ones, and think long-term about the broader European interest. As the euro crisis has continued, the Commission has gained greater technical powers to supervise eurozone economies.

The Centre for European Reform proposes the following to enhance the role of National Parliaments. "Some of the EU’s waning legitimacy stems from its poor performance: unemployment remains high, many economies have been in recession, and leaders have quarrelled while failing to come up with convincing cures for the eurozone’s ailments. But there is also the problem of how power is held to account in the EU’s complex and opaque decision-making procedures.

Whilst other continents successfully reduce poverty, Europe adds to it. Poverty in Europe is steadily and worringly rising. It is the most vulnerable that are paying the highest price for the recession, and subsequent austerity. We are seeing more social exclusion, more working poverty, and more children growing up in deprived households.

Europe is sinking into a protracted period of deepening poverty, mass unemployment, social exclusion, greater inequality, and collective despair as a result of austerity policies adopted in response to the debt and currency crisis of the past four years.

Aux élections européennes, la plupart des États membres font office de circonscriptions uniques. Cependant, quatre États membres (la France, l'Irlande, l'Italie et le Royaume-Uni) ont divisé leur territoire national en plusieurs circonscriptions régionales. Il existe des circonscriptions dont l'intérêt est purement administratif ou qui servent uniquement à la répartition au sein des listes des partis en Belgique (4), en Allemagne (16, uniquement pour la CDU/CSU), en Pologne (13) et aux Pays-Bas (19). En Belgique, un siège est réservé à l'élu de la minorité germanophone.

De 1930 à 1933, l’atmosphère en Allemagne ne prêtait guère à l’optimisme. La crise économique mondiale frappa particulièrement durement le pays et il y eut jusqu'à 30% de chômeurs. Des millions d’allemands considéraient la coalition comme un gouvernement faible, incapable de lutter contre la crise. La misère largement répandue, la peur d’un avenir plus sombre encore, ainsi que la colère et l’impatience devant l’échec apparent du gouvernement à gérer la crise, préparèrent un terrain propice à la montée d’Adolf Hitler et de son parti nazi.

The much heralded African economic boom is set to go from strength to strength, although worries remain over governments' failure to tackle poverty and inequality. The whole of Africa is projected to grow at a rate of 5.3% in 2014

The better growth performance of oil exporters is likely to continue in 2014 but the growth differential with oil-importing countries is becoming smaller.

Le souverainisme est un mouvement ou une doctrine politique qui défend la souveraineté des nations en Europe. Le mouvement souverainiste est relativement récent. Il a été surtout lancé contre l'idée de l'Union européenne. Ce mouvement défend la souveraineté de l'État nation face à tout ce qui est supranational et donc face à l'Union Européenne. Le fondement du souverainisme c'est le principe de souveraineté de l'État et l'indépendance nationale.

The French National Front wants to pull France out of the euro and take back control of the country's currency and monetary policy; to renegotiate EU treaties to give states greater sovereignty and control of their national borders and wants to cut EU contributions;  get rid of EU free trade and competition rules and impose trade barriers on goods from China and Eastern Europe; replace the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) with a French Agricultural Policy.

Europe would face regression and paralysis if Eurosceptics and nationalists gain the upper hand in next year’s European Parliament elections. A fourth of parliamentary seats (188) may be taken by extreme and populist parties. This would fundamentally change the nature of policymaking in the Parliament; and the populist radical right MEPs would band together in one or more political groups to rival the big three (the EPP, S&D and ALDE groups).