Crises beset Juncker's 'last chance' EU
AFP, 30.10.2015
Quotes
A year after Jean-Claude Juncker took charge of what he called the "last chance" European Commission, his plans to win back sceptical voters have been partly sidelined by existential threats like the migrant and Greek crises, analysts say.
The wily former Luxembourg prime minister vowed when he took the reins of the 28-nation EU's executive arm in November 2014 to be more "political" than his Portuguese predecessor, Jose Manuel Barroso.
That meant fewer rules about the shape of cucumbers and other red tape that had given Brussels a bad name, and more dealing with the bigger issues affecting increasingly disillusioned Europeans.
But while the Commission has not been afraid to be proactive, even if it annoys member states, that has failed to translate into wider support for Europe -- as the victory of eurosceptics in Polish elections last weekend shows.
"The final verdict is still out," Janis Emmanouilidis of Brussels-based think-tank the European Policy Centre (EPC) told AFP.
Link to original text here
Latest media contributions
La faiblesse du chancelier allemand Friedrich Merz "n'est pas une bonne nouvelle pour l'Europe"
Quotes, La Libre Belgique, 26.09.2026
Ναρκοθετημένη καγκελαρία
Quotes, Kathimerini, 20.09.2026
EU-Kanada: Engere Partnerschaft ja, Mitgliedschaft nein
Quotes, Deutschlandfunk (DLF), 17.09.2026
Von der Leyen: Kanada soll "assoziiertes EU-Mitglied" werden
Quotes, Deutsche Welle (DW), 16.09.2026
EPC Update – State of the Union 2026: From ambition to action?
Online Briefing, YouTube, 16.09.2026
EPC Update / Post-summit Briefing: What does the Ankara NATO Summit mean for Europe’s security?
Online Briefing, YouTube, 09.07.2026
EPC Update / Post-summit Briefing: Will the June EU Summit provide strategic direction?
Online Briefing, YouTube, 22.06.2026
EU Democracy Reform Observatory: Two years on: Why Europe’s far right keeps growing
Online Briefing, YouTube, 11.06.2026
EPC Update: Can Europe lead when leadership is in short supply?
Online Briefing, YouTube, 29.05.2026
What are the sticking points for the EU's new budget?
Quotes, Deutsche Welle, 29.04.2026