The main “menu” of today’s Summit, namely the allocation of the first three European posts to equal officials, entered the discussion of the “27” in Brussels from 11:30 am (Greek time) in the shadow of the “Meloni thriller”.
Diplomats cited by Politico were optimistic about agreement from tonight onwards pointing out, however, that things can change easily (in this case).
The feeling of optimism was increased by the change of the “neutral” Czech Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, to the camp of the three (Der Leyen, Costa, Kalas), as announced in a post.
The European Council is about to start a debate on so-called top jobs in the EU.
It is crucial for the Czech Republic that the distribution respects not only political but also geographical balance. The names proposed so far meet these criteria. Furthermore, I…
– Petr Fiala (@P_Fiala) June 27, 2024
Progress towards common defense
Ursula von der Leyen presented three options for bolstering defenses, diplomats said.
An increase in national contributions and thus taxes, but under the pretext of the “EU’s borrowing power”. Which means (common) debt. The latter was immediately rejected by Germany and the Netherlands.
However, a step forward has been taken, reports an EU diplomat: “The conclusions are a great success for those who wanted to broaden the European debate on defense.” “For the first time, we are not just talking about the defense industry, but also about joint defense projects, such as the Polish-Greek air defense initiative or the defense of the Polish-Baltic border”, said the diplomat.
Earlier, France It is Germany jointly called for a wide range of changes to the strategic agenda.
Some EU leaders have reacted to the last-minute Franco-German initiative.
However, agreement was finally reached on the so-called strategic agenda, which defines the priorities of the new European Commission for the next five years.
In particular, Paris and Berlin proposed during the same Summit in Brussels together a series of changes in the strategic agenda, namely EU leaders’ political prioritiesaccording to documents seen by Politico.
They follow the main points they wanted to add Paris and Berlin:
- About climate policy: “We will continue the implementation and development of the Green Deal.”
- For defense: “A stronger and more capable European Union in the area of security and defence will contribute positively to global and transatlantic security and is complementary to NATO, which continues to be the basis for the collective defence of its members.”
- About Competition rules: “We need to review European competition rules and practices and allow joint ventures and consolidation in key sectors in order to strengthen European resilience.”
- About her enlargement: “At the same time, the European Union underlines the need to lay the foundations and internal reforms necessary to fulfil the Union’s long-term ambitions and address key issues related to its priorities and policies, as well as its ability to act towards a new geopolitical reality and increasingly complex challenges.”
Macron’s proposed compromise on defense
French President Emmanuel Macron presented the compromise proposal on EU defense at the ongoing Brussels summit, according to three diplomats cited by Politico.
Germany and the Netherlands were strongly opposed to more joint EU borrowing, but they also wanted to emphasize the need for consolidation using the private sector rather than demanding more joint debt.
Direct reference to Cyprus
The conclusions of the European Council for the Middle East contain a reference to member states under threat following the messages launched against Cyprus by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
In particular, it is stressed: “The European Council condemns in the strongest possible terms any threat against EU Member States that contributes to escalation and confirms its solidarity with the EU Member States”.
With information from Politico