Midtown Blogger/Manhattan Valley Follies: European Union Hopes for a Better 2015- Netzero News

Troubled EU hoping the only way is up in 2015

The Associated Press - By By RAF CASERT - Associated Press

21 minutes ago

Fireworks explode during New Years celebrations near the new headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

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People crowd St. Peter's Square at the Vatican as Pope Francis delivers his blessing during the Angelus noon prayer he delivered from the window of his studio, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

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FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015 file photo, people light sparklers as they celebrate the New Year at the Red Square in Moscow, Russia. A recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll showed that Russians who rely on state TV for their news think significantly more highly of President Vladimir Putin than those who tap other sources, but for both sectors the support for Putin is resoundingly strong -- 84 percent and 73 percent respectively. (AP Photo/Denis Tyrin, file)

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FILE - In this Tuesday, March 18, 2014 file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures after signing a treaty to incorporate Crimea into Russia in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. The chances of that appear unpromising. In his New Year’s Eve televised message to the nation, Putin hailed the annexation of Crimea as a historic achievement and the rightful return of the peninsula’s people to the bosom of Russia. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, file)

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Pope Francis leaves at the end of a New Year mass he celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

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A salesperson presents Euro coins in a shop in Vilnius, Lithuania, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. The Baltic state of Lithuania early Thursday became the 19th European Union member to adopt the joint European currency, the euro. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

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Fireworks explode during New Years celebrations near the new headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

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People crowd St. Peter's Square at the Vatican as Pope Francis delivers his blessing during the Angelus noon prayer he delivered from the window of his studio, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

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FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015 file photo, people light sparklers as they celebrate the New Year at the Red Square in Moscow, Russia. A recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll showed that Russians who rely on state TV for their news think significantly more highly of President Vladimir Putin than those who tap other sources, but for both sectors the support for Putin is resoundingly strong -- 84 percent and 73 percent respectively. (AP Photo/Denis Tyrin, file)

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FILE - In this Tuesday, March 18, 2014 file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures after signing a treaty to incorporate Crimea into Russia in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. The chances of that appear unpromising. In his New Year’s Eve televised message to the nation, Putin hailed the annexation of Crimea as a historic achievement and the rightful return of the peninsula’s people to the bosom of Russia. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, file)

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Pope Francis leaves at the end of a New Year mass he celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

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A salesperson presents Euro coins in a shop in Vilnius, Lithuania, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. The Baltic state of Lithuania early Thursday became the 19th European Union member to adopt the joint European currency, the euro. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

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Fireworks explode during New Years celebrations near the new headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

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People crowd St. Peter's Square at the Vatican as Pope Francis delivers his blessing during the Angelus noon prayer he delivered from the window of his studio, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

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FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015 file photo, people light sparklers as they celebrate the New Year at the Red Square in Moscow, Russia. A recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll showed that Russians who rely on state TV for their news think significantly more highly of President Vladimir Putin than those who tap other sources, but for both sectors the support for Putin is resoundingly strong -- 84 percent and 73 percent respectively. (AP Photo/Denis Tyrin, file)

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FILE - In this Tuesday, March 18, 2014 file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures after signing a treaty to incorporate Crimea into Russia in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. The chances of that appear unpromising. In his New Year’s Eve televised message to the nation, Putin hailed the annexation of Crimea as a historic achievement and the rightful return of the peninsula’s people to the bosom of Russia. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, file)

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Pope Francis leaves at the end of a New Year mass he celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

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A salesperson presents Euro coins in a shop in Vilnius, Lithuania, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. The Baltic state of Lithuania early Thursday became the 19th European Union member to adopt the joint European currency, the euro. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

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BRUSSELS (AP) — Beset by critics and buffeted by economic woes, European Union chiefs might have been forgiven for thinking that at least Pope Francis would apply some balm for the New Year in his address to the EU parliament.

Not so. Even the pontiff spoke of a continent that was "elderly and haggard" facing a world which "regards it with aloofness, mistrust and even, at times, suspicion."

Little wonder that many in Europe hope that 2015 is the year the fortunes of the 28-nation bloc bottom out and things finally look up again.

Certainly, the EU has the zest and energy brought by a new team, headed by the no-nonsense Donald Tusk, once an activist in the Solidarity movement before becoming democratic Poland's longest-serving prime minister. He is expected to add visibility to the EU presidency as he takes over from the colorless Herman Van Rompuy.

The new president of the EU's executive, Jean-Claude Junker, replaces the long-serving Jose Manuel Barroso. Junker, a former Luxembourg prime minister, says his "last chance Commission" needs to streamline bureaucracy to connect with its half billion citizens.

But the best-laid schemes were already starting to unravel with the approach of the new year.

Two weeks ago, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras promised that Greece would not "gamble" with its recovery from financial crisis. Now the country at the heart of the EU's economic woes has done exactly that. On Monday, parliament failed to approve a new president, forcing the government to call early elections for Jan. 25 — a poll that could re-ignite Europe's sovereign debt crisis.

An election that may bring to power leftists opposed to Greece's harsh bailout conditions could dampen the enthusiasm generated by a December EU summit that created a strategic investment fund to kick-start the EU's sluggish economies and generate job growth.

2015 The Associated Press

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