The summit’s goal is the charting of a new course for the EU, mindful of the reasons behind the Brexit, as identified by European Council President Donald Tusk: fragmentation, populism and Euroscepticism.
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Britain is planning block the European Union’s attempts to forge a closer military union and consequentially creating an “EU army” even though the United Kingdom has been left out of key proposal talks because the nation voted for a Brexit in June this year.
The 27 leaders, meeting in a castle overlooking the River Danube in the Slovak capital, were warned they would have to be “brutally honest” to find a way forward.
French President Francois Hollande, left, speaks with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel, center, and Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel after a cruise on the Danube River as an event on the sidelines of an European Union summit in Bratislava on Friday, Sept. 16, 2016.
But if Britain’s government does go ahead with a Brexit, former European Commission head Herman van Rompuy says significant EU exit talks are unlikely to begin until the end of next year after Germany’s September elections have been settled.
European Union leaders are also expected to reaffirm that Britain must accept freedom of movement of workers in order to gain access to the single market.
The 27 leaders, who were meeting without Britain’s Theresa May, were asked to craft priorities around the themes of migration, terrorism and globalisation – areas that European Council President Donald Tusk, who is chairing the informal summit, has identified as EU citizens’ top concerns. “We want to ensure that this agenda is a success and not just words spoken in a room”.
The response to Tusk will add to the confusion surrounding the UK’s withdrawal from Europe, with no clear signal on whether the country intends to stay in the single market or not.
Tusk said he understood why Britain needs time to prepare, suggesting Prime Minister Theresa May could go for January or February, but the European Union was ready and could even start the talks “tomorrow”.
Disagreements over taxation, immigration and the EU’s relations with Russian Federation and Turkey were bound to happen, he said.
Meanwhile Mrs Merkel has banned her colleagues from describing the migrant crisis which continues to effect Europe as “chaos”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, addressing reporters as she arrived for the summit, said the bloc was in a “critical situation”.
They plan to discuss practical results during the meeting in spring to mark the 60th anniversary of the European Union founding Treaty of Rome in the Italian capital.
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The migration crisis is the most divisive issue, with many Eastern European leaders including Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, the summit’s host, blaming Merkel for opening the continent’s doors.
