The European Union faces a series of testing issues over the next five years, chief among them the economy and near-record unemployment.

The Ukraine crisis meanwhile threatens to complicate the international environment and make it even harder for Brussels to make its voice heard.

UNEMPLOYMENT, DEBT CRISIS AFTERMATH

The EU economy is recovering slowly from a record recession, with 26 million people out of work and youth unemployment above 50 percent in countries such as Spain and Greece. Building a future for this 'lost generation' is made more difficult by the austerity policy measures adopted to tame the debt crisis. Governments must now stick to tighter EU rules on budget deficits and debt as they try to find some leeway to stimulate growth and jobs. EU leaders take great pride in having survived the debt and financial crises but now they have live up to their commitments.

FOREIGN POLICY

The Ukraine crisis has turned into the sharpest East-West stand-off since the end of the Cold War and seriously exposed EU divisions with Russia, a major trade partner and military power in the immediate neighbourhood. Russia's annexation of Crimea is a particular concern as the first unilateral change of the post-Cold War order by force, a dangerous precedent. Turmoil in the developing world, especially in Africa and the Middle East, presents a huge challenge -- how to reconcile needed change with order. After welcoming former Soviet states of eastern Europe into the fold to give it 28 members, EU enlargement appears largely on hold. Serbia has begun accession talks but the most important candidate Turkey seems stuck in an impasse.

US TRADE PACT, OPPORTUNITY OR RISK?

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is championed by outgoing European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso as offering huge economic gains at relatively little cost. Together, the United States and EU would account for about 40 percent of global economic output and 50 percent of global trade. Since the two are already major trading partners, its backers say the changes needed to end tariffs and open up markets are modest. But for opponents, TTIP is a monster, the unacceptable face of globalisation leading to the loss of national and regional identities.

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY POLICY

The Ukraine crisis and EU dependency on Russian gas supplies have focused EU minds on the need to diversify energy sources. The US 'shale gas revolution' meanwhile gives US companies increasingly cheap energy costs to the disadvantage of their European competitors. They want shale gas opened up in Europe but face vociferous opposition from environmentalists. Britain meanwhile has taken the nuclear option for its future energy needs while Germany is closing down its nuclear plants in light of the Fukushima disaster in Japan. Pressure to cut greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming is growing but at a time when economic growth and jobs are at a premium, environmental concerns get pushed down the agenda.

DISILLUSIONMENT WITH EU

The election of a new European Parliament is expected to see eurosceptic and radical parties to the left and right do well, perhaps securing up to 30 percent of the seats. With such a voice and a mandate for five years, EU governments could find it more difficult, or much less desirable to push for greater economic and political integration. Britain is already pressing for the return of some powers from Brussels and it is a message that finds an echo in many other member states.