Political uncertainty and money matters

摘要

In Brussels, 2019 will be busy in the political field, and in particular, three major events are scheduled, including the official Brexit day on 29 March, when the European Union will shrink to 27 Member States. Then, on 23 to 26 May, European citizens will vote to renew the European Parliament. As a result of Brexit, the number of MEPs will be reduced from 751 to 705. And on 31 October, the mandate of the current European Commission, led by Jean-Claude Juncker, will come to an end. Afterwards, the new Commission will take office during November. These major political events are taking place in a climate of uncertainty and distrust. The Member States have still not found a common solution to the migration crisis, and populism and Euroscepticism are gaining pace in a growing number of European countries. Nor is the international political environment reassuring. We can therefore expect that political groups in the European Parliament will be more fragmented, with a growing number of MEPs coming from national right- or left-wing populist parties.