“We are well prepared for these negotiations and we could in fact start these procedures even tomorrow”, he added, saying that the EU’s goal was “the closest possible future relations” with Britain while negotiating in the interests of the bloc.
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The pair said the leaders had agreed in Bratislava on a roadmap for measures in defence, security and the economy that would eventually be approved at a meeting in Rome in March to mark the 60th anniversary of the European Union s founding treaties. “We are in a critical situation”.
But squabbles among member states have kept the topic in the background at most previous meetings of European leaders.
The road map approved at an informal European Union summit sets out how will the European Union tackle issues like perceived lack of control of migration, terrorism, and economic and social insecurity.
Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May (L) greets European Council President Donald Tusk in Downing Street in London, Britain September 8, 2016.
“We have to show through actions that we can make it better”, she said. “Our job is to stop at the Hungarian border the negative consequences of the suction effect of German domestic politics”, he said.
“The Brexit vote is a desperate attempt to answer the questions that millions of Europeans ask themselves daily”.
“There is a will among the member states, as we saw in the (pre-summit) talks, to work more single-mindedly and faster”, she said. “There are different views, different ideas”, he said. More than 1 million people have entered Europe since 2015, a lot of them headed to Germany, which announced an open-doors policy for those fleeing the Syrian Civil War.
Still, some of Orban’s allies noted recent give by Brussels on the notion of mandatory refugee resettlement.
They showed symbolic unity by holding a joint press conference after the summit talks in the Slovak capital Bratislava. “But we should not blame Europe for everything”.
European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker had meanwhile submitted his version on Thursday but there were no major differences and it “mirrored” what was being discussed, the official said. Other EU nations committed extra equipment and personnel.
French President Francois Hollande – whose country will be by far the bloc’s top military power after Britain’s departure – said as he arrived in Bratislava that his country “cannot be alone” on defence. His far-right opponent from the National Front, Marine Le Pen, has already said she will call for an in-out referendum on European Union membership if she wins.
While the European Union seeks to create common cause, Europe’s economy remains weak.
Remember Greece previous year, with its euro woes. But it is still struggling to deliver on its promises to creditors.
Diplomats said the busy morning of talks in Bratislava’s hilltop castle had remained civil and constructive in analysing what was wrong.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, though, insisted such quarrels have always been there.
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The states will “start implementing a joint declaration with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation immediately”, the draft said, with the aim of deciding a “concrete implementation plan”, “especially as regards capabilities” at December’s European Council. “This is about showing through deeds that we can become better”.
