Meeting three days after Brexit negotiations were opened with London (see EUROPE 11811), the leaders of the 27 member states will be informed after dinner by UK Prime Minister Theresa May of the domestic political situation in the United Kingdom in the wake of the general election on 8 June which has left her in a weakened position (see EUROPE 11805).
May will then outline the broad thrust of her government’s position on the rights of European and UK citizens after Brexit. UK negotiator David Davis is hopeful for a swift agreement on this issue. The UK government’s stance is expected to be set out in greater detail in London next week. On Thursday evening, May will set out the main tenets of the proposal on citizens but it is not felt that it would be relevant, as early as Thursday evening, to put a detailed document on the Council table, a diplomatic source said. May, who will also brief her 27 counterparts on her position on the Brexit negotiations, will be asked shortly afterwards to leave the meeting.
A new session on Brexit with 27 member states around the table will then take place, since Donald Tusk has absolutely no intention of beginning the debate on this issue with the UK present, a source said.
In this session, then, EU negotiator Michel Barnier will brief the meeting on the first day of negotiations with London, on 19 June, which allowed the two sides to agree on how the discussions are to be organised (see EUROPE 11811). Thereafter, the EU leaders will tackle the issue of relocating the European agencies that are currently based in London: the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Banking Authority (EBA) (see EUROPE 11812). In theory, they will approve the decision-making procedure, with voting on the selected applicant cities due to take place in October.
The discussion could last some time, according to some sources, who point out that the member states have always had difficulty in the past in sharing European agencies. The decision to use a voting system, based on objective criteria, is seen by some as a good idea. The European Commission will draft an objective report in September on what each of the applicant cities has to offer and the Council will thereafter discuss the report before coming to a decision.
France has proposed Lille for the EMA, while Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Barcelona have also been proposed. Frankfurt, Paris and Prague are vying for the EBA, while Luxembourg, Vienna, Dublin and Warsaw have been put forward by their respective countries for the two agencies. In all, there are 20 cities looking to be selected to host one of only two agencies.
According to a number of diplomatic sources, the big challenge for the 27 member states on Thursday will be not to quarrel over this matter after they have been so successful thus far in maintaining a united front towards London. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with the editorial team)