Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, admitted that Europe is in a “critical situation” since the United Kingdom voted to leave.
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Even though Britain’s referendum result is not on the agenda, and British Prime Minister Theresa May is not attending the summit, there is little doubt that Brexit will overshadow the meeting.
Speaking after Merkel, Hollande said Europe could only move forward after Britain s shock vote to leave if it identified clear priorities that “meet the expectations of Europeans”.
Merkel said France and Germany would ask the Council to pursue their proposals but added: “We want to work inclusively so all of the 27 member states should of course have the opportunity to take part and to decide on things together”.
They aim to draw up a roadmap for the future that they will discuss at further summits and then approve in Rome in March 2017 on the 60th anniversary of the EU’s founding treaty.
The weeks preceding the Bratislava summit have seen an endless array of regional meetings of government leaders, hoping to gather some critical mass to push through their views on how the European Union should be run in the future, along either geographical or ideological lines, or a mix of both.
“This is not a game between prime ministers leaving and prime ministers remaining, this is about people in Europe”.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker highlighted that European leaders have agreed on contributing significantly to safeguarding the Bulgarian border with Turkey.
On the migration front, a “large majority” of leaders have pledged to deploy guards and equipment to the border between Bulgaria and Turkey, as part of efforts to clamp down on migrant flows, the European Union official said.
Formal negotiations over the withdrawal can not begin until Britain triggers Article 50 of what is known as the Lisbon Treaty, the formal mechanism for leaving the Union of 28 nations.
The leaders, who were greeted by soldiers in bright blue uniforms and ceremonial plumes, will hold talks at the towering castle before having lunch during a river cruise on the Danube.
Bratislava Summit approved a road map, which brings the way how will European Union tackle several challenges such as migration, terrorism, and economic and social insecurity.
Battered by Britain’s Brexit vote and divided by a row over migration, European Council president Donald Tusk has urged leaders to take a “brutally honest” look at the EU’s problems.
Despite the promise of one vision, cracks in the union are evident everywhere.
Central and Eastern Europe want powers back from Brussels.
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But squabbles among member states have kept the topic in the background at most previous meetings of European leaders.
