German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces the greatest, and probably last, opportunity to shape her legacy when Germany takes up the rotating presidency of the European Union from the beginning of July to the end of 2020. Merkel had her program for the presidency mapped out, but the coronavirus has thrown a wrench in the works.
The pandemic has caused turmoil among the EU's member states, threatening the bloc's stability. And a looming trade war between the US and China is putting strain on Europe's political position in the world, pitting western democracy against the autocracy of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the right-wing populism of US President Donald Trump.