In a surprise paper sent to EU leaders on the morning of the summit, the central European quartet also mounted a robust defence of free movement of labour, with implicit critique of “intra-EU protectionism”, following debates in France on foreign workers undercutting locals and the Brexit vote centred on immigration.
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There has been tension between Merkel and ex-communist eastern states which have refused to take in asylum-seekers, many of them Muslims, even as she let in a million people previous year.
Leaders pledged never to return to “uncontrolled flows” of migrants of a year ago, but the term “chaos” used often by Tusk was scrapped, as it was deemed too grim by some.
The 27 leaders have insisted there will be no formal Brexit talks until Britain triggers the two-year divorce process and says what it wants.
Just this week, the foreign minister of founding member Luxembourg suggested Hungary should be suspended or expelled from the European Union over its dealings with refugees and other human rights issues.
Juncker’s speech came two days before the 27 European Union leaders meet without Britain in the Slovakian capital Bratislava, for a summit aimed at drawing up a road map for the post-Brexit future.
EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the member states agreed to award 108 million euros ($121 million) in emergency funding to Bulgaria for border management at one of the most porous borders with Turkey.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who is hosting the summit, said all wanted unity but a “very honest” exchange of views was needed to make that possible.
Hollande is under intense pressure to come with some success as he is trailing in the polls ahead of next May’s French presidential elections.
“We must give Europeans a clear vision of how future can look like”, Hollande said.
One concrete step expected on Friday is agreeing a small European Union border guard force to help Bulgaria keep irregular migrants from coming over its Turkish frontier now that an European Union deal with Turkey has largely halted sea crossings to Greece.
Meeting in Bratislava without the United Kingdom, they will not discuss Brexit talks.
The Eastern Europeans also oppose compulsory relocation of migrants around the bloc to ease the burden on Greece and Italy, part of more fundamental opposition to power being centralised in Brussels.
With British Prime Minister Theresa May absent, the other 27 leaders will gather on Friday to try and agree a diagnosis of why people across the bloc are increasingly voting for eurosceptic parties and on ways to regain trust in the EU.
The “informal” summit – so-called because any formal one still has to include Britain until it leaves the bloc – is aimed at restoring public faith in the European Union (EU), which for decades was seen as a guarantor of peace and prosperity but is now, officials acknowledge, in an “existential crisis”.
“I am not satisfied with the conclusions” of the summit “on growth and on migration” and for that reason “I can not hold a news conference with Merkel and Hollande, not sharing the conclusions as they do”, he said shortly after the summit finished. Greece remains in the zone of European Union nations using the euro after its third worldwide bailout. “We have to make sure we can fix them”.
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“All these countries have an interest in fighting terrorism, in a more secure Europe, in preventing uncontrolled migration, all have an interest in economic cooperation to create more jobs”, said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte before the talks.
