U.S. Report Forecasts A Weaker EU By 2025

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The National Intelligence Council in the U.S. painted a bleak picture for the European Union in its new Global Trends report released Thursday.

According to the NIC, while the EU would have already completed its institutional reforms by 2025, it will continue to weaken as a global power. The gloomy outlook is due to internal bickering and skepticism becoming widespread in the regional bloc. The report explains, "Europe by 2025 will have made slow progress toward achieving the vision of current leaders and elites: a cohesive, integrated and influential global actor."

While the EU will still have massive economic might, it will no longer enjoy real global clout by 2025 because of its continued failure to convince residents of the benefits of deeper economic, political and social integration.

To address this problem, the NIC advised, "The European Union would need to resolved a perceived democracy gap dividing Brussels from European voters and move past the protracted debate about its institutional structures."

The other reasons behind the weakening of Europe as an international power is its dwindling population problem which place a heavy burden on the EU's social welfare system. The EU will likely fail to curb criminality in Eastern Europe, while it will heavily count on Moscow to meet its energy requirements.