The State of the European Union. The European Parliament faces its most important elections yet

THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 108 fronts at the same time. This has been reflected by initiatives such as the Juncker Commission’s efforts to address issues such as the causes of “unfair trade”, or Macron’s proposal to create a working group on trade and the world order under the auspices of the OECD, comprising the United States, the EU, China and Japan. At the same time, we cannot rule out the possibility of Trump opting for a strategy of con- frontation, both domestically and internation- ally, given his conviction that his electoral base thrives on permanent tension. There are several options, but it is quite possible that Trump will create difficulties for Europe as a result of his policies towards countries such as Iran, Venezuela and Cuba, his anti-immigration rhet- oric or his aggressive tax policy to attract inter- national capital. Certainly, there have been sym- bolic gestures that do nothing to inspire optimism about the prospect of improved rela- tions in the short term. At the start of 2019, the status of the EU ambassador in the US, David Sullivan, was reduced from that of Member state, granted under Obama in September 2016, to that of mere international organiza- tion, putting it on the lowest rung of the diplo- matic ladder. The European delegation respond- ed by lodging a letter of protest to Nancy Pelosi, president of the Chamber of Representatives, demanding a response. We are at the start of a decisive period for Europe, starting with the European Parliament elections in May 2019, and counting down towards the US presidential elections of November 2020.