EU-US trade relations experiencing a bumpy ride
In his third state of union address to the European Parliament on Sept 13, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker should refer to a check list of his team's 10 priorities when he took office in late 2014, and assess to what extent it has fulfilled them in three years - or more than halfway into his term.
On the economic front, the European Union has been doing a relatively good job - it has phased out the roaming charges for cellphone users, a big step toward improving connectivity, and struck trade deals with several economies including Canada and Japan.
Even as the progress on internal integration has been slow, the EU now faces three new challenges that Juncker must focus on in his speech - rising terrorist attacks and plots, the United Kingdom's departure from the 28-member bloc and the deteriorating relationship (in political terms) between Washington and Brussels.
