Politically, 2019 will be an extraordinarily important year for the European Union. The United Kingdom is currently on track to leave the EU on March 29 2019. And, following elections to the European Parliament in May, nearly all of the most important leadership positions across EU institutions will turn over.

Thus, depending on how parliamentary seats are distributed, Europe could witness a major realignment of power among member states, within EU institutions, and between member states and the Parliament.