Two months after the British referendum which saw victory for those wishing the country to leave the European Union and three weeks before the informal summit of the EU27 in Bratislava to be held on 16 September, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande, and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi met in the evening of 22 August on the island of Ventotene (Italy), for a dinner aiming to give them the opportunity to sketch out areas for reflection on the future of the European Union (see EUROPE 11580 and 11584).
The meeting was held in a symbolic location, famous for being the place where Altiero Spinelli, who is considered one of the founding fathers of the EU, was held prisoner under Mussolini's dictatorship and where, in 1941, he and Ernesto Rossi co-wrote the Ventotene Manifesto calling, amongst other things, for a federation of European states to fight nationalism.
Italy's objective, as the Italian secretary of state for European affairs, Sandro Gozi, told the Financial Times on Thursday 18 August, was to push for increased integration in the EU, in a move which does not necessarily enjoy the support of Renzi's colleagues. The Italian primer minister also wished to lay emphasis on reinforcing the Juncker investment plan, an ambition shared by Paris in particular. According to other media sources, the three leaders were also expected to discuss migration, the distribution of refugees within the EU and defence initiatives. Anti-terrorism policies were also on the agenda of the meeting.
According to a European Commission source, the institution was not expecting any major announcements on Monday 22 August. The same source also pointed out that the Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker regularly meets many political leaders to discuss the future of the EU of 27 member states. On Wednesday 14 September, in his speech on the State of the Union to be made in Strasbourg at the first plenary session of the European Parliament following the summer break, Juncker is also expected to announce a few areas for reflection, two days ahead of the informal meeting in Bratislava.
For their part, the leaders of the so-called Visegrad four (Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) will also meet Merkel in Warsaw on Friday 26 August. The German Chancellor will travel to Prague the day before to meet Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka. In early September, possibly on Friday 9, a mini-summit will take place between the countries of the South of the EU by initiative of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, French news agency AFP reports. France, Malta, Cyprus, Italy, Spain and Portugal have been invited, according to the agency, quoting a spokesperson of the French government. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)