London, Jan. 4, 2021 (Lusa) - The departure from office of Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, after next September's parliamentary elections in the country is one of the main threats to the European Union this year, according to the annual report by Eurasia Group, a US-based risk consultancy.

In its report 'Top Risks 2021', published on Monday, which identifies some of the main risks at the global level, the firm gives Merkel the credit for a consensus having been reached among the EU's 27 member states on the approveal of a recovery fund to relaunch economic growth after the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was during Germany's six-month presidency of the Council of the EU, which ended on 31 December, that the Recovery and Resilience Facility was designed and Poland and Hungary's opposition to an agreement unblocked.

The presidency has now been handed to Portugal, from 1 January.

This year "will be more complicated for Europe", said Eurasia's president, Ian Bremmer, at a presentation of the report on Monday. This, he said, is partly because Merkel is departing, which leaves France's president, Emmanuel Macron, as the leading figure in the EU at a time when "he is much more concerned about domestic issues" and faces a more difficult economic situation.

This, Bremmer said, "means the EU is left with weak leadership."

Merkel announced at the end of 2018, following a series of electoral setbacks for her party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), that she would not stand for a fifth term as chancellor, stepping down from a post that she has held since 2005.

The next general elections in Germany are scheduled for 26 September.

According to Bremmer, this year the EU will face an economic crisis due to the lingering effects of lockdowns imposed during the winter and an end to what he called the "hibernation" of populism in countries such as Italy, the Netherlands and France as a consequence of "fatigue" with coronavirus restrictions and "frustration" at the pace of vaccination.

The political transition in the US, as Joe Biden takes over as president from Donald Trump, the continuing impact of the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide, the fight against climate change, and the risk of cyber attacks are other threats highlighted in the report.

WB/ARO // ARO.

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