2014 an important year for EU

 The year 2014 will be decisive for the political and economic future of the 28-membre European Union. European Parliament elections in May are expected to usher major leadership changes in Europe. Moreover, the Parliament is gaining more power through treaty changes and hence is expected to play a decisive role to chart the future direction of the EU.The tenure of the president of the European Commission, the president of the European Council, the EU High Representative for foreign affairs and security policy, and the president of the European Parliament will end after the 2014 elections and are most likely to be replaced by new faces.Although several names are floating as possible successors, till now only one politician, Martin Schulz, the current President of the European Parliament, has officially announced that he is a candidate for the post of the President of the European Commission.The outside world will be watching very carefully who will replace Catherine Ashton at the helm of the EU foreign service, known as the European External Action Service, EEAS.Although Ashton - who is from the UK - played an important mediator role in clinching the deal between Iran and the Group of 5+1 in Geneva and in the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, analysts consider her general performance as weak and opine that she was not able to push forward the EU foreign policy agenda with success.They point out that without American involvement there would have been no breakthrough on the Iranian nuclear programme.In the Middle East, despite its huge financial and humanitarian assistance in Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, the EU was unable to exert much influence on the course of events. Analysts think that it will be American and not European diplomacy that will influence developments in the region as Europe increasingly will focus on domestic problems.The euro crisis, jobs and growth, illegal immigration are expected to dominate the 2014 election debates and discussions.Moreover, major EU countries like France, Germany and the UK have no interest in boosting the influence of the EEAS and hence, analysts think, they will want to keep somebody at its helm who is not powerful and influential.In its eastern neighbourhood, the EU in 2013 suffered a major political defeat after Ukraine snubbed an economic treaty with Brussels and instead opted for closer trade and economic ties with Russia. The EU's tug-of-war with Russia over influence in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and the Ukraine will continue this year. A major headache for European politicians will be the rise of extreme-right and anti-EU parties, like Marine Le Pen's National Front in France and Geert Wilders' Freedom Party in the Netherlands.The two leaders have formed an alliance and if these anti-EU parties get more than 30% of the seats in the European Parliament, they could hamper and disrupt the European integration project.