French President Francois Hollande greets German Chancellor Angela Merkel prior to their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016.
Advertisement
The Bratislava summit is meant to give the European Union a new sense of goal after the existential crisis triggered by Britain’s shock referendum decision to quit the bloc.
French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pose for photographers prior to their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. It was the same Thursday, when Merkel met with Hollande. French President Francois Hollande, right, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, pose prior to their meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2016. But domestic discontent with Merkel and Hollande has given them a weakened appearance on the worldwide stage, as well, and their respective administrations no longer see eye-to-eye on many global issues.
The one-day Bratislava summit should be the first in a number of confidence-building meetings where a road map should be set up to culminate in a March summit in the Italian capital, when the 60th anniversary of the EU’s founding Treaty of Rome will be marked – or, in the best of circumstances, celebrated.
During the bilateral meeting held on Thursday, Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel chose to make security, energy transition and work with the younger generation priorities of the summit in Slovakia’s capital.
Hollande and Merkel both want to create a permanent European Union military headquarters that could dispatch the bloc’s new troops quickly, a long-standing plan long opposed by Britain – which no longer stands in the way.
He called for “new defence capabilities and forces that can be deployed outside Europe”.
“We must protect our external borders and we must provide a common response, ‘ Merkel stresses, adding that Europe needed to address citizens” concerns in order to remain ‘a continent of hope’.
Other mutual priorities include fighting youth unemployment and promoting economic growth through investments in digital technologies and green energy.
Advertisement
We should give Europeans a clear vision of their future, ” Francois Hollande said at a press conference.
