In the evening of Monday 22 August, the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, Italian prime minister, Matteo Renzi, and French president, François Hollande, said after a trilateral summit on the island of Ventotene that the European Union would survive Brexit.
After the mini-summit, Renzi said many people thought Europe would be finished after Brexit, but it was not the case.
While the meeting did not give rise to any big institutional announcements, it allowed the three leaders to agree on a number of targets, such as boosting citizens' security through greater cooperation in counter-terrorism, tackling youth unemployment using the European Youth Guarantee, and tackling illegal immigration through introduction of the future European border guard. At a joint press conference,
Merkel said the British referendum result of 23 June had to be respected (see EUROPE 11580), but that the 27 other EU member states had to work to build a safe and prosperous EU. Renzi said the three leaders, at this their second three-way meeting since the end of June (see EUROPE 11581), wanted to write a new page for the future of Europe. Hollande said the big risk for Europe and nations alike was dislocation, fragmentation, egotism and turning inwards.
On the counter-terror question, the French president called for more controls on access to websites that encourage jihad. He called for sensitive files on potential terrorists to be shared, and brought up the question of encrypting messaging services, such as Telegram, that powerful terrorists use for communicating. Hollande recommended setting up a Europe of defence.
On the question of the economy, Hollande and Renzi (both social democrats) recommended strengthening the Juncker Investment Plan that is due to attract €315 billion by 2019 and whose extension is currently being studied (see EUROPE 11583). Renzi called for greater investment and flexibility in terms of budget discipline. Merkel was less forthcoming on the latter subject, but welcomed "courageous" reforms undertaken by Renzi (see other article). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)