The Brussels chief’s warning came as European Union leaders discussed the future of the bloc in Bratislava in the wake of the UK’s sensational Leave vote, the eurozone crisis and escalating migrant chaos.
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Not only the decision by British voters to break away from the EU but other serious problems as well have have contributed to “the critical situation” that confronts the European partners, Merkel said.
“Prime Minister May was very open and honest with me”.
European Union leaders remain deeply divided over the worst migrant crisis since World War II.
The issue of security was also key following deadly terror attacks in France and Belgium, and with the bloc facing its biggest migration crisis since World War II as refugees flee war in Syria and the Middle East.
A senior EU official said former Polish premier Tusk – who has toured European capitals in recent weeks hearing the views of European leaders – wanted the Bratislava summit to “restore trust in the EU by showing that we got the (Brexit) message”.
Indeed, earlier this week, Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, called for a headquarters for a common EU military to complement NATO-and with the U.K.’s absence from the summit there will be no opponent of such a force.
The leaders meeting in Bratislava sought to use the Brexit vote as an impetus for safeguarding the EU’s future.
BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) – Talk of joint efforts to defend Europe is on the lips of European Union leaders after decades of leaving collective security mostly to the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
One senior British official involved in the set-up for the coming negotiations said the European Union elite “seem to think the game is to make us change our minds”.
French President Francois Hollande delivers a joint statement with the German Chancellor after the European Union Summit of 27 Heads of State or Government in Bratislava, Slovakia on September 16, 2016.
EU Council President Donald Tusk agreed, calling the current mood in the EU “sober but not defeatist”.
The 27 leaders, minus British Prime Minister Theresa May, hoped to find the broad outlines of a new “Bratislava roadmap” during their daylong talks in the Slovak capital that should lead to a new start following the shock British referendum result in June.
The refugee emergency has been specifically divisive.
The summit that did not include Britain was organised to regroup the bloc that has been hit by the Brexit and migration crisis.
But the deeply unpopular Hollande is widely expected to lose power in a presidential election next spring, and speculation is rife in Germany about whether Chancellor Merkel will decide to run for a fourth term at next year’s parliamentary election amid a fall in her popularity and infighting among her conservatives. Divisions have emerged along geographical or ideological lines, or a mix of both.
“I asked them not to do this anymore because the nation-states can not accept it”, he said.
Pressure is mounting among several prominent member states, after Luxembourg’s foreign minister attacked Hungary, saying they should be thrown out for their treatment of asylum seekers.
Though Greece may have secured its euro future a year ago after its third worldwide bailout, it’s still struggling to deliver on its promises to creditors.
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Diplomats said a busy morning of talks in Bratislava’s hilltop castle had remained civil and constructive in analyzing what was wrong.
