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Today and tomorrow – December 10 and 11 – the Council of the EU will see the 27 European leaders come together to discuss some key issues related to the future of the European Union and possibly alleviate the tensions that have conditioned EU policy in recent weeks.
There are many dossiers on the European table, from economic aid instruments in an anti-Covid key to strategies to reduce emissions on the continent in the coming years: these are the nodes that Brussels will try to dissolve to strengthen the cohesion of the EU.
The first and most important obstacle to the Recovery Fund, announced President Charles Michel, has just been overcome, but there are still many items on the agenda.
Here is a summary of the topics that will be covered. during the Council of the EU, which has already begun, together with an analysis of the most recent developments on the Brexit front.
Council of the EU: the Recovery Fund and the ESM on the table
The EU Council began in a climate of cautious optimism. Charles Michel, in a greeting before the start of the meeting, recalled how important and complex these two days are. However, the possibility of reaching an agreement on the Community budget and the green light for the Recovery Fund has raised new hopes.
The first skein that has been unraveled, in fact, is the one related to Recovery Fund. It was a particularly intricate situation, this, since until the day before Poland and Hungary had opposed apply the conditionality linked to compliance with the principles of the rule of law, risking with its veto to blow up an instrument worth 750,000 million euros.
But in the last hours, thanks to the mediation of Germany, Warsaw and Budapest have yielded to a compromise and the Recovery Fund was approved by the Board. The scenarios envisaged in recent days by the EU Budget Commissioner – the Austrian Johannes Hahn – who saw the European bureaucratic machine committed to avoiding the obstructionism of the two Eastern countries with the introduction of a new instrument limited to 25 states members.
Now the draft agrees will get the attention of continental leaders. The approval will unlock the necessary resources to replenish the national coffers and drive economic recovery for next year.
But the Council of the EU will also be an opportunity to address the long-standing problems related to the ESM. In fact, the issue of structural reform of the stability mechanism is on the agenda. At the forefront of the reformulation of the functioning and priorities of the much-discussed European instrument is Italy, with Prime Minister Conte intending to promote the integration of the ESM within the framework of European architecture, thus going beyond the form of the intergovernmental agreement.
Fighting Covid and climate change in the spotlight
Not just Recovery Fund and MES. On the agenda, as expected, too the Covid chapter. The pandemic, in fact, continues to ravage Europe, forcing Member States to maintain, albeit to a limited extent compared to last spring, the application of restrictions aimed at containing the spread of the virus.
During the meeting, therefore, the protagonists of European politics will be updated on the state of the epidemiological curve, especially trying to develop a strategy that can ensure effective and inclusive distribution of new vaccines.
But even though the ongoing health crisis has obscured the issues considered, until 2019, as priorities for the continent, the next EU Council will see European leaders return to the original agenda. Climate change is one of the thorniest spots: the will is to set more ambitious emission reduction targets for 2030.
Finally, a problem that has come back to the fore in recent weeks will be addressed, the one with terrorism. The bloody autumn that shook France requires, in fact, that European politics seriously reflect on a phenomenon that, after the 2015-2016 biennium, seemed shelved.
Worry too the situation in the eastern Mediterranean and Erdogan’s excesses, with Brussels trying to reform the EU’s approach to avoid a deterioration of the geopolitical scene.
Brexit: negotiations will continue until Sunday
During the Council of the EU in the coming days, they will inevitably continue to haunt the specters of Brexit. This is a thorn that threatens the growth and prosperity of the old continent in the coming years.
Last week, the “accusation” of the French representatives to compatriot Michel Barnier, European chief negotiator for the exit of the United Kingdom, excessively crushed – according to the detractors – the requests of the British government. The reprimand must have had some effect, since the negotiations, which were concluded only a few days ago, now they are stagnant.
An impasse from which the leadership of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, tried to escape, without success. In fact, midweek The two senior officials resumed the discussion on the fisheries chapter. which, as is well known, prevents the parties from avoiding the unlikely outcome for the majority: no agreement. But, as sources close to Downing Street admit, distances are still great.
In any case, the European Union and the United Kingdom they will keep trying until the end of the week. The agreement should be finalized on Sunday; otherwise, the parties will separate without legislation regulating business relationships in the post-Brexit era.
