Meeting informally as a group of 27, in the absence of their UK counterpart, EU leaders sketched out a roadmap on Friday 16 September, punctuated by timescales and concrete projects, to breathe new life into the European project after the seismic shock of the UK referendum result.
The new process set out in the Bratislava statement and roadmap, will come to a conclusion with the celebrations in Rome on 25 March 2017, marking the signing of the 1957 Treaty of Rome. “This is an initial response but it’s a very appropriate one”, said Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, describing the discussions as “constructive and fruitful”. He said this 27-member meeting had given the opportunity to establish a key principle: while the EU may not be perfect, it remains “the best project” for addressing the manifold challenges facing Europe even though there may be “differing views” on the same issue, such as on the migration crisis.
According to European Council President Donald Tusk, the informal meeting allowed an “honest diagnosis” to be made of the current state of the Union. The leaders have pledged to “redress the errors of the past”, put an end to the feeling of “loss of control” in the face of migratory pressure and fear of terrorism and to create the conditions for a promising economic future, he said. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was pleased that his speech on the state of the Union of 14 September and the Commission’s work programme had been welcomed by the Member states (see EUROPE 11624).
More tightly focused priorities. The 27 agreed on more tightly focused priorities: migration, internal and external security and the economy.
Laying great emphasis on the challenge of migration and keeping Europeans safe, the Bratislava roadmap paves the way for discussions with the countries of Central Europe on the issue of solidarity on relocating refugees already in the EU.
In an indication that now is the time to try to overcome divisions, German Chancellor Angela Merkel even acknowledged that “new approaches” had to be examined on this issue since “majority decisions have met with resistance”. In September 2015, on the will of the majority of countries, the requirement to relocate refugees was written into European legislation, despite the opposition of Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Merkel even went as far as to describe as “positive” the proposals by the four countries of the Visegrad group (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Czech Republic) which advocate “flexible solidarity” on sharing the burden of taking in persons who qualify for international protection. For these countries, this concept means that member states should be able to choose the kind of solidarity contribution they wish to make in response to the migratory challenge.
The Bratislava roadmap also makes clear reference to the desire to build long-term agreement and to achieve a balance between responsibility and solidarity. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, however, said that the only way for his country to challenge “bad decisions made in Brussels” that damage Hungarian identity was to hold a referendum on this specific issue on 2 October.
The defining images were those of columns of migrants making their way to Germany, crossing borders along the Balkans route. The immediate response is that European leaders will support Bulgaria with the provision of border guards and equipment. Juncker announced initial aid of €108 million to help Bulgaria deal with the increase in irregular migration at its border with Turkey.
On security, the EU27 again reiterated that the European coastguard and border guard corps must be operational in mid-October. The roadmap also speaks about the future creation of the ETIAS advance registration system for travellers from third countries whose nationals do not need visas to enter the EU, as well as strengthening the exchange of information between the relevant authorities. The December European Council will also identify areas in which the EU27 can progress towards a common defence, especially through the mobilisation of capacity.
In the economic domain, the Bratislava roadmap sets out several areas for work. All 28 European leaders will focus in October on European trade policy, with the trade negotiations with the USA and Canada currently arousing controversy. They will try to find a balance between the benefits of free trade and consideration of the concerns regarding unbridled global competition. In December, they will agree on prolonging and developing the Juncker investment plan. On Wednesday, the European Commission proposed that this plan allow €630 billion of additional investment to be attracted by 2022 (see EUROPE 11624). We have promised our citizens prosperity but "this promise has not been sufficiently respected", Merkel admitted, mentioning youth unemployment – a subject that will be on the agenda of the December European Council.
At lunch, which took place on a cruise-boat on the Danube, Tusk drew his colleagues' attention to the importance for the EU of ratifying the Paris Climate Agreement. He said it would be absurd for the EU not to have any say at the COP22 in Marrakesh in November. "All the member states are ready to ratify the agreement as quickly as possible so that Europe may be associated with its governance", French President François Hollande stated, mentioning a vote of the European Parliament in October.
Italy fights back. Although the Europeans did their utmost to close ranks, Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi put his foot in it before leaving Bratislava. Whether it was a spontaneous statement or politically calculated, he said he did not think he could participate in the joint press conference with France and Germany, saying that he did "not share their conclusions on the economy and migration".
Faced with a national referendum on reform of the Italian Senate in which his political future will be played out, the Italian leader said that the EU-Turkey agreement of March 2016 did not settle the migration problem at all. The Italian peninsula is in the front line when it comes to receiving flows of irregular migrants from North Africa, and Renzi is also of the opinion that the Bratislava declaration is too weak on the importance of supporting economic growth – a continuing problem in a country suffering from heavy public debt.
Next steps. The EU27 should not meet again without the UK until 2017, with two formal European Councils planned in October and December. Another informal meeting of the EU27 will take place next year in Valletta (Malta), probably at the beginning of February.
By then the member states have committed to adopting a more respectful attitude towards each other and to take greater ownership of the common decisions taken at European level, as well as communicating better to their citizens with a view to fighting the "simplistic" solutions of populist or extremist forces. Otherwise "there will be a price to pay", a source stated, referring to the results of the British referendum.
More information: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/fr/press/press-releases/2016/09/pdf/160916-bratislava-declaration-and-roadmap/
(Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)