Breslava. L’Unione Europea è ‘diversamente vivente’ in attesa di morire.

Giuseppe Sandro Mela.

2016-09-17.

 

Sono rimasti loro due, che nel 2017 saranno trombati alle elezioni.

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«Some say the very existence of the bloc is under threat. This has focused the minds of the member states whose leaders gathered for a key summit in Bratislava. They are desperate to come up with a game plan for salvaging the European project.» [Deutsche Welle]

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«France is making the main effort on European defence but it cannot be alone and does not want to be alone,» [The Local]

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«Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared the summit a failure because members had not been able to change “Brussels’ refugee policy,” …. Orban also presented his European colleagues with a paper that contained Visegrad group proposals for “flexible solidarity …. Merkel conceded that this might be a way to attain results»

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«Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was also dissatisfied with the summit. Although Merkel and Hollande recently traveled to Italy to lend their support in difficult times, Renzi did not want to appear alongside the two leaders for their final press conference»

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«The UK’s eventual departure from the European Union was the ostensible reason for the summit, but in the end it was only addressed as an afterthought»

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Il Summit di Breslava ha sancito l’inizio della decomposizione dell’Unione Europea.

In primavera Mr Hollande ed i socialisti francesi usciranno dalla scena politica nazionale ed europea, ed a settembre Frau Merkel scomparirà anch’essa dall’agone politico.

Il 2017 proseguirà l’anno elettorale tedesco. Il 26 marzo andrà al voto Saarland, seguita il 7 maggio dallo Schleswig-Holstein ed il 14 maggio dalla Nordrhein-Westfalen. Se le attuali proiezioni e sondaggi si confermassero, tutto il quadro politico tedesco risulterebbe completamente differente da quello attuale. Una svolta epocale.

• Nordrhein-Westfalen. Spd -8.5, Cdu invariata, AfD 13%. 2016-09-17

• Herr Martin Schulz. Altra testa socialista che sta per cadere. 2016-09-15

• Blue-Chip tedesche non assumeranno più di 100 migranti sul milione arrivato. 2016-09-14

• L’Era Merkel è finita. Il Fantasma di Kohl. Der Spiegel. 2016-09-13

• Germania. Comunali in Bassa Sassonia. Spd -3.7 punti percentuali. 2016-09-12

• Germania. Ritorna il termine ‘Bürgerkrieg’, Guerra Civile. 2016-09-11

• Berlino. Große Koalition kaputt. AfD al 15%. 2016-09-09

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La sconfitta della Weltanschauung franco-tedesca, ossia del socialismo europeo, è stata ben evidenziata dal rifiuto di Mr Renzi di partecipare alla conferenza stampa finale.

Sono rimasti da soli Mr Hollande e Frau Merkel: Mr Renzi ha preso spunto dal comportamento del gen. Badoglio l’otto settembre. Tradire gli alleati è una sua specialità

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Chiunque abbia a cuore la mutazione della visione politica dell’Unione Europea dovrebbe leggere con molta attenzione tutta la documentazione allegata.

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Il sito dello European Council. Council of the European Union ha pubblicato in extenso la documentazione relativa al Summit di Breslava: Informal meeting of the 27 heads of state or government, 16/09/2016.

Riportiamo la citazione dei principali documenti, per facilitarne la consultazione.

Remarks by President Donald Tusk after the Bratislava summit

Bratislava Declaration and Roadmap

Background brief – Informal meeting of the 27 heads of state or government, 16/09/2016

Draft outline programme, Informal meeting of the 27 heads of state or government, 16 September 2016

Press accreditation for Bratislava summit

Media guide, Bratislava summit, 16 September 2016

The Slovak presidency website of the summit

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The Bratislava letter by Donald Tusk, 13 September 2016

Remarks by President Donald Tusk before his meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven

Remarks by President Donald Tusk after his meeting with Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas

Remarks by President Donald Tusk before his meeting with Latvian Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis

Remarks by President Donald Tusk after his meeting with Taoiseach Enda Kenny

Press statement of President Tusk after his meeting with Prime Minister Bettel

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Questi erano gli obiettivi del Summit.

«These objectives include:

– restoring full control of the external borders

– ensuring internal security and fighting terrorism

– strengthening EU cooperation on external security and defence

– boosting the single market and offering better opportunities for  young Europeans»

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Ecco il testo della dichiarazione finale di Mr. Donald Tusk, Presidente.

«Remarks by President Donald Tusk after the Bratislava summit.

First of all let me thank Prime Minister Fico for inviting us to Bratislava. My words of gratitude also go to the Slovak people for their hospitality and patience. I know that it is not always easy, especially with all the security measures in place, but you did a great job. 

Bratislava is the first summit during which we discussed the common EU future of 27 States, without the UK. It was a sad moment for Europe when the British people decided to leave, and so it required an honest diagnosis. Today we had a frank discussion about the root causes of the current political situation in Europe. The fact that millions of Europeans feel insecure is real. People are concerned about, what they  see, as lack of control, and express fears over migration, terrorism and last but not least, about their economic and social future.

Our assessment is sober but not defeatist. While we all agree that the European Union is not perfect, we also agree that it is the best instrument we have. That is why we are determined to correct the past mistakes and move on with common solutions as the EU of 27. We will not continue business as usual. To move the EU forward we have discussed a Bratislava roadmap, which sets out the objectives for our work ahead of the Rome meeting in March next year, when we want to conclude this process.

Let me mention some of the objectives discussed today:

– Never to allow for the return of uncontrolled refugee flows of last year and to ensure full control of our external border to get back to Schengen. We are determined to continue our co-operation with Turkey and Western Balkans but also to establish migration compacts with African countries;

– To do everything necessary to support Member States in ensuring internal security and fighting terrorism. Intensification of information-exchange among security services of Member States is an urgent priority;

– To strengthen EU cooperation on external security and defence. In December, the European Council will decide on how to make best use of the options available in the Treaties;

– To create a promising economic future for all, by strengthening the single market and increasing investments;

– and finally, to safeguard our way of life and to provide better opportunities for the young Europeans.These objectives are matched by a number of very concrete measures. I will not go into all the details, you can find them in the roadmap. Let me just mention that a number of leaders have decided to immediately deploy extra personnel and equipment to help guard Bulgaria’s border with Turkey. I want to thank them for this cooperation.

We should deliver more practical and tangible decisions in the next months. To that end, let me congratulate president Juncker for his excellent initiatives, which he presented in his State of the European Union speech. We discussed many of them today and I hope that all the institutions will cooperate on their implementation.

To conclude, let me say that the Bratislava Roadmap will guide our actions when we meet during our regular European Councils meetings in October and December, and also in Valletta, and later in Rome for informal meetings. I hope that the Bratislava Summit will lead to the renewing of trust and confidence in the European Union. This will only happen if and when people realise that we are delivering on our promises through loyal cooperation between Member States and institutions. Today I can say that there is hope. Thank you.»

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→ Deutsche Welle. 2016-09-17. Incremental progress at EU summit

EU leaders have been looking for a way out of the crisis triggered by the Brexit vote. They’ve now agreed on a road map designed to move the EU forward, but the refugee question remains unanswered. Barbara Wesel reports.

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Security, prosperity and the future of Europe’s youth – the message from Bratislava can be summed up by these keywords.

Government leaders from the EU’s 27 member states – minus the United Kingdom – met all day Friday at the castle above the city to discuss if and how Europe can be saved. Additional inspiration was provided by a steamboat trip along the Danube River, which helped brighten the summit’s rather depressed mood. “It was the nicest part of the meeting,” said European Council President Donald Tusk.

In the end, all agreed on a road map for how things are to progress from here. Differences appeared to have been set aside so that members could concentrate on the next major meetings between European leaders early next year in Malta and then in late March in Rome, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. German Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasized that she intends to present concrete results by then.

Franco-German motor

The only minor victory at this markedly sober summit was that Merkel and French President Francois Hollande held a joint press conference. The German chancellor has been doing all she could over the last few weeks to get the EU’s famous Franco-German motor up and running again.

Prior to the summit, she spoke with leaders from all 27 member states, above all with those from Eastern Europe – but she met with Hollande four times in the last weeks alone. It seems that the future of the EU still relies on the cooperation of these two nations.

“We have to develop new perspectives for Europe,” said Hollande, as Merkel spoke about jobs for the future, support for start-up companies and opportunities for young people. And then she conjured up the “spirit of Bratislava,” saying it was all based on cooperation, compromise, solidarity and common values. Voters going to the polls in Germany and France next year, however, will be most interested in what this will all mean for their own lives.

The French president mentioned one of the immediate goals: “All were in agreement that the EU must show that it can protect its external borders,” he said. Bulgaria will be the first country to receive help, namely 160 million euros ($179 million) and EU personnel to better protect the EU border with Turkey and Greece.

The focus of the French-German initiative, however, is on security within the EU, especially as it relates to the fight against terrorism, but also to defense issues. Paris and Berlin want to set up a headquarters for coordinated missions, while also saving money by committing to common purchasing and supporting their defense contractors. Hollande added that those who are interested in joining in on this special cooperation are more than welcome to do so.

Not entirely harmonious

Host Robert Fico, the Slovak prime minister, was conciliatory as the summit ended – Slovakia is also a member of the four-country Visegrad group, which has voiced total opposition to EU refugee policy over the last several months.

“It is important that we show the will of the 27 to continue with this unique project [Europe],” he said. “It isn’t perfect, but we have security and stability.”

But there were dissenting opinions. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared the summit a failure because members had not been able to change “Brussels’ refugee policy,” as he put it. At home, he is currently running a campaign to stir up Hungarian sentiments ahead of an upcoming referendum against refugee quotas.

Orban also presented his European colleagues with a paper that contained Visegrad group proposals for “flexible solidarity.” That would mean that a country would be obliged to do more for border security if it did not want to take in refugees. Merkel conceded that this might be a way to attain results.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was also dissatisfied with the summit. Although Merkel and Hollande recently traveled to Italy to lend their support in difficult times, Renzi did not want to appear alongside the two leaders for their final press conference.

Renzi wasn’t interested in pretending that there was harmony if they weren’t in agreement on all points. He feels Italy has been left alone in bearing the refugee burden, and he continues to fight against the austerity policies of the stability pact. “The EU must move faster, or it will have big problems,” he summarized after the summit.

Brexit as side issue

The UK’s eventual departure from the European Union was the ostensible reason for the summit, but in the end it was only addressed as an afterthought. Tusk reiterated the common approach: There will be no preliminary negotiations with the UK before actual negotiations begin. And he expects British Prime Minister Theresa May to trigger Article 50 of the EU Treaty by the beginning of 2017.

“Our goal is that future relations will be as close as possible,” he said, emphasizing, however, that there will be no cherry-picking. But the United Kingdom will remain a member of the EU until exit negotiations are completed, and Theresa May will once again be in attendance at the next routine summit in October.

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→ The Local. 2016-09-17. Hollande says France ‘can’t be alone’ on EU defence

France can take the lead in European defence cooperation, but cannot do it all on its own, French President Francois Hollande said Friday as EU leaders held crunch post-Brexit talks.

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“France is making the main effort on European defence but it cannot be alone and does not want to be alone,” Hollande said as he went into the summit in Bratislava with security top of the agenda.

Hollande, whose country will be the bloc’s top military power after Britain’s departure, has joined forces with Germany to push the idea of a “more active” defence policy to restore confidence shaken by terror attacks, the migrant crisis and globalisation.

Hollande said France wanted to work with its partners to assure Europe’s defence, in line with the alliances it has, namely with the United States in NATO.

But at the same time, Europe was ready to stand on its own two feet if need be, he said, apparently referring to remarks by US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump that in a crisis the US-led alliance might think of its own interests first before its NATO commitments.

“Let everyone know that if the United States chooses to draw back, Europe must be able to defend itself,” Hollande said.

The 27 European Union leaders are meeting without Britain to map out a post-Brexit future, with increased defence cooperation a key issue to rally a disillusioned public.

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker this week proposed an EU defence headquarters, underscoring how the EU is keen to move on now it no longer has to worry about Britain’s long-term opposition to any European Union army which would undermine NATO’s role.