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Europe

Weathering the storm

Duncan Robinson: Brussels bureau chief and Charlemagne columnist, The Economist BRUSSELS

A difficult year looms for the European Union

2021 in brief

It is 100 years since the Anglo-Irish treaty was signed, concluding the Irish War of
Independence and establishing an Irish Free State the following year

INTERNAL FRICTIONS, external worries and some long-anticipated farewells will be the
order of the day for the European Union in 2021. A colossal amount of effort went into
agreeing to issue €750bn ($888bn) in collective debt for the first time to allay a
financial crisis, as covid-19 racked the continent. In 2021 EU politicians will learn that
agreeing to borrow the money was the easy bit—agreeing how to spend it will be much
harder.