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

THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 150 NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OMT: Outright Monetary Transactions ÖVP: Österreichische Volkspartei (Austrian People’s Party) PD: Partito Democratico (Democratic Party) PESCO: Permanent Structured Cooperation Ph.D: Philosophiae doctor (Doctor of Philosophy) PiS: Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc (Law and Justice) PP: Partido Popular (People’s Party) PS: Parti socialiste (Socialist Party) PSOE: Partido Socialista Obrero Español (Spanish Socialist Worker’s Party) PvdA: Die Partij van de Arbeid (Social-democratic po- litical party in the Netherlands) PVV: Partij voor de Vrijheid (Party for Freedom in the Netherlands) R&D: Research and Development R&D+i: Research, Development and Innovation RPAS: Remotely Piloted Aircraft System S&D: Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats SEDES: Associação para o Desenvolvimento Económico e Social (Association for the economic and social development) SPD: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (Social Democratic Party in Germany) SPÖ: Sozialdemokratische Partei Öserreichs (Social Democratic Party of Austria) TEU: Treaty on European Union TMCC: Training Mission Competence Centre TTIP: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership  UK: United Kingdom UMP: Union pour un mouvement populaire (Union for a Popular Movement) UNED: Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (National University of Distance Learning) UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UN: United Nations Organization UNRWA: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East UNU-GMN: United Nations University Institute on Globalization, Culture and Mobility US(A): United States (of America) VVD: Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie (People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy) WSI: Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Institut (German Institute of Economic and Social Sciences) WTO: World Trade Organization