With the United Kingdom not attending, EU leaders will meet in Brussels on Friday 10 March – for the very first time in the Council Europa building – to discuss the content of the declaration that will be adopted in Rome on Saturday 25 March at the ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.
Perhaps using the options contained in the Commission’s recent White Paper on the future of the EU (EUROPE 11736), European leaders will address the central question of how to organise the European Union and articulate interaction between the national and European levels to better respond to the “unprecedented challenges”, such as “regional conflicts, terrorism, growing migratory pressures, protectionism and social and economic inequalities”.
Starting point remains unity. According to a working document dated 3 March that will provide the basis for the leaders’ discussions, the Rome Declaration will set out the principal successes to date of the European project (freedom of movement, the internal market, the single currency, etc.), the challenges facing the EU and the areas in which the leaders will pledge to make progress.
The starting point will be to restate the overriding principle of unity. In the view of European Council President Donald Tusk, if the celebrations are to be for a birth, the name of the new born should be “unity” rather than “multi-speed”, commented a high-ranking official on Tuesday 7 March.
This is consistent with the message delivered by the working document put to European leaders: “We are determined to make the EU stronger and more resilient; we need to show even greater unity and solidarity among EU Member States. Unity is a necessity, not an option. Taken individually, we would be sidelined by global dynamics. Standing together is our best chance to influence them, and to defend our common interests and values”.
Nonetheless, following the Versailles mini summit of the four main Eurozone economies (see EUROPE 11739), following on from the specific contribution from the Benelux countries (see EUROPE 11718), consideration of the possibility of allowing vanguards in certain areas would seem to be inevitable, while leaving the door open to states which would like to join the pioneer group at a later date. On Thursday, European leaders will, indeed, launch a new enhanced cooperation by authorising 17 member states to set up a European prosecutor’s service (see other article).
Keen to make Europe safer, more prosperous, more social and able to take on more responsibilities at global level, the leaders will pave the way in Rome for variable geometry in European integration, for example, in defence and security if the unity of the 27 members is no longer exists.
“We will work together to promote the common good, on the understanding that some of us can move closer, further and faster in some areas, keeping the door open to those who want to join later, and preserving the integrity of the single market, the Schengen area, and the EU as a whole”, says the working document, which outlines “an undivided and indivisible Union, which acts together whenever possible, at different paces and intensity whenever necessary”.
According to a highly-placed diplomat from one of the founding countries, on Friday, the leaders will have a discussion “on the portions where unity is necessary and where differentiation is essential”. “What is a matter for action as a group of 27, the areas in which breathing space is needed … given the difficulty of always being in agreement on everything”, he added.
Within the Visegrad Group (see EUROPE 11737), there is no difficulty is accepting that differentiation is already a reality with the Eurozone or the Schengen area. However, these Central European countries are concerned that a multi-speed Europe might become the rule. “The real question is this: does what we do at European level represent added value?”, stated another national diplomat.
The Rome Declaration will focus, then, on the priority areas where the leaders want to make progress. It will not make reference to any potential treaty change to achieve the goals pursued. The prospect of elections in several member states is giving cause for caution. “Now is not the time for boldness ahead of crucial elections which will have an impact on the future”, stated a third diplomat.
The working document can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/2lE5q7w (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with Camille-Cerise Gessant, Aminata Niang and Sophie Petitjean)