2020 vision: A year in review The year 2020 will go down in history as one of the most challenging in generations. Lorna Hutchinson looks back on an extraordinary twelve months. Adobe stock 23 Dec 2020 January The year kicks off on a celebratory note, as Finland, Austria and Sweden celebrate 25 years of EU membership, when they became the 13th, 14th and 15th Member States of the EU following referendums in each of the states prior to accession. Meanwhile, Brexit is at the forefront of many people’s minds as the 31 January deadline when the UK is due to leave the EU looms ever closer. EU citizens living and working in the UK as well as citizens’ rights groups and the European Parliament’s political groups express their growing concern over the impact that Britain’s exit from the bloc will have on their lives and legal status.