Europe sheds its Brexit baggage; aims for bold new relaunch

Brussels

WHAT A difference a year makes for the European Union.

Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, will deliver the annual State of the Union speech this week in a more upbeat mood than a year ago, when the 28-nation bloc was buffeted by the UK's decision to leave and anti-EU parties appeared to be on the march.

In a sign of the EU's renewed confidence, Mr Juncker will push for free-trade pacts with Australia and New Zealand at a time when the US is turning inwards, along with a bloc-wide system for screening foreign takeovers and deeper euro-area banking integration.

To underline the range of projects being planned without Britain, Mr Juncker may not even…