ABSTRACT
There is no denying that the European Union (EU) faces serious policy challenges that threaten its strength and unity. The most recent financial crisis in the EU exposed the weaknesses in monetary union. The reasons behind the crisis are complex but boil down to the incomplete nature of integration that followed signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1991. Fiscal union would produce a single fiscal policy for the EU member states. The Presidents of four European institutions together with the President of the Eurogroup, in the Five Presidents Report laid down a roadmap to deepen the Economic and Monetary Union in two stages as of July 2015 and complete it by 2025 at the latest. The refugee crisis in Europe is not only a humanitarian problem, it is a serious challenge to the EU's solidarity and exposed the need for a common policy towards asylum seekers, immigrants, and the financial responsibility between the EU and its member states.
