The
summit that wasn’t
At
a pre-Christmas meeting of EU leaders, there’s nothing under the
tree.
By MATTHEW
KARNITSCHNIG 12/18/15, 3:44 AM CET
Europe’s leaders
took pains this week to lower expectations for their final summit of
2015. By the end of the crucial round of discussions Thursday
evening, it was clear they were too optimistic.
On the two key
issues under discussion Thursday — the refugee crisis and British
proposals to reform the EU — the leaders broke little, if any new
ground. The most tangible decision they made was to adjourn their
deliberations on those issues until the New Year.
The leaders’
failure to achieve even the hint of a breakthrough on the existential
challenges the EU faces (be it the threatened collapse of its system
of open borders or the refusal of many countries to accept refugees)
will deepen concerns across the region that the EU’s unwieldy
decision-making apparatus has paralyzed the bloc’s power to
properly function.
The summit, which
concludes Friday, brings to a close a year that many regard as the
EU’s most difficult. A series of crises, from the influx of
refugees to tensions with Russia to terrorism, has left the union
more divided than ever.
British demands that
the EU undergo a radical reform, in particular a proposal to limit
welfare benefits to non-U.K. EU citizens, have further inflamed
passions. British Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to hold a
referendum on the U.K.’s EU membership and has hinted he might
support the country’s withdrawal from the union if the proposals
aren’t adopted.
A dinner discussion
of the U.K.’s reform plans, which Cameron has divided into four
“baskets,” topped the agenda late Thursday. While many of the
ideas, such as a proposal to cut red tape and one to give national
parliaments more say in EU affairs, aren’t controversial, others
are.
Several countries
have refused to consider any reforms that would impinge on EU
citizens’ freedom of movement, a right many regard as the essence
of European integration. Cameron’s main aim is to reduce the number
of EU citizens drawn to the U.K., a goal that may prove impossible to
achieve without altering the union’s founding treaty.
The U.K. leader has
been shuttling across Europe in recent weeks trying to win support
for his blueprint. He presented the plans to fellow EU leaders on
Thursday to mixed reviews.
While all of the
leaders expressed a desire to keep the U.K. in the EU, several made
it clear they weren’t willing to do so at any price.
Many in Europe’s
capitals have been put off by Cameron’s approach. The EU usually
makes decisions by building a consensus around an idea and then
haggling over the details. Cameron has ignored that tradition by
presenting the EU with a list of demands and threatening to leave if
they aren’t met.
He said after the
summit ended that he could see a “pathway” to a deal, but also
declared that he would not back down from his demands.
While all of the
leaders expressed a desire to keep the U.K. in the EU, several made
it clear they weren’t willing to do so at any price.
“The social
benefits issue, it’s the most delicate, the most difficult,”
European Council President Donald Tusk said afterward. “We have to
respect what the U.K. and David Cameron want but we also have to
respect member states’ needs.”
Even as Tusk
insisted the group had made “significant progress” on the Brexit
question, he emphasized the challenges ahead.
“We absolutely
have to be tough when it comes to some red lines,” he said. “We
will not give up when it comes to free movement and
anti-discrimination.”
European Commission
President Jean-Claude Juncker appeared even more cautious, stressing
that Cameron’s proposal to curtail welfare payments and the free
movement of EU citizens weren’t the only problems that needed to be
overcome.
“We’ve only had
this problem for four or five months. For other important issues in
Europe we’ve needed 10 years” — Angela Merkel.
“I’d like to
warn you of the illusory idea that there are three easy questions and
one tricky one,” he said, referring to the UK’s four-section
proposal. “There are four tricky questions.”
Given the complexity
of those questions, it could be difficult for the U.K. to achieve its
aim to secure an agreement at the next EU summit in February.
Even Angela Merkel,
Cameron’s strongest ally among the other 27 EU leaders, urged
caution.
“It’s certainly
not going to be easy,” she said. “We’ve only had this problem
for four or five months. For other important issues in Europe we’ve
needed 10 years, so we’ll need to learn faster.”
Cameron, who vowed
as he entered to meeting to fight “all night” for a deal, emerged
after midnight, saying he was encouraged by the response to his
presentation.
“What I sense in
the room is that there’s a lot of goodwill, there’s a momentum,
people want a deal that keeps Britain in the EU,” he said.
The leaders made
even less headway on the evening’s other burning issue: refugees.
The group agreed to
further examine a Commission proposal to establish an EU border
patrol with a rapid-reaction force that could be dispatched to secure
the frontiers.
Germany and France
see the idea as essential in order to preserve the Schengen
agreement, which allows for borderless travel across most of Europe.
Some countries have
questioned the viability of an EU border force amid concerns that it
would impinge on national sovereignty.
A more pressing
question involves how to deal with the 1.5 million refugees who
arrived in Europe this year. Germany has taken in most of the
arrivals. It wants other EU countries to share the burden but they
have for the most part refused.
While countries
agreed this fall to a limited agreement to allocate about 160,000
refugees across the EU, they have so far refused to implement it.
Tusk said the EU
suffered from a “delivery deficit” in its response to the
migration crisis. At Thursday’s meeting leaders again vowed to
honor the commitments they have made.
Speaking after the
meeting, Merkel sought to downplay the difficulty Berlin has had
convincing other countries to pitch in, saying it would take time for
Europe to adjust to the situation.
“Every learning
curve begins slowly,” she said.
Authors:
Matthew Karnitschnig
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