EU turning 60 at a time of troubles

London

ON Saturday, the European Union (EU) celebrates the 60th anniversary of its founding Rome treaty with a summit of the continent's leaders in Italy. Some six decades after that landmark document of European unity was signed, the union is facing into one of its worst setbacks with the UK's triggering days later - on March 29 - of Article 50, commencing formal exit negotiations between London, Brussels and the governments of the remaining 27 EU states.

Yet, damaging as Brexit will be, it will by no means solely define the future of the EU. Instead, the UK's pending exit from the EU is just one of a series of potentially existential challenges now confronting the bloc in a time or troubles. These range from internal pressures such as the ongoing danger of Greece needing to leave the eurozone, through to external threats such as an emboldened Russia which recently commemorated the third anniversary of its annexation of Crimea.