EU heads meet in Romania to chart bloc’s next steps
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European Union leaders meet in Romania today to try chart a way forward after the historic setback of Brexit and to have their first go at picking people to fill the bloc’s top jobs later this year.
The 27 national leaders – all except Britain – will meet on Europe Day in the town of Sibiu, which has German and Hungarian roots.
While rich in symbolism, the summit will be short on substance, a reflection of how the EU has been engulfed by problems and divisions that may play out prominently ahead of the bloc-wide European Parliament elections on May 23-26.
EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (C-R) holds the EU flag while posing for a family photo at the ‘Young Citizens’ Dialogue’ in Sibiu with the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis (C-L), in Sibiu city, Romania, 08 May 2019, a day before the start of the Informal Summit of Heads of State or Government of the EU countries. Photo: EPA-EFE/ROBERT GHEMENT
Deepening euro zone cooperation, developing artificial intelligence capabilities and promoting a transition to more environmentally friendly policies are among more than a dozen “strategic agenda” points the leaders will discuss for 2019-2024, although no decisions will be taken.
More interesting could be the leaders’ informal discussions about appointing new names for the bloc’s most powerful roles at the helm of the European Council, which brings together the EU’s national leaders, the executive European Commission, the European Parliament, the European Central Bank and the joint diplomatic service.
All five posts are up for grabs later this year, and the outgoing European Parliament has already named its lead candidates for the Commission job, including a conservative German, Manfred Weber, and a socialist Dutchman, Frans Timmermans.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Monday said he would not support Weber.
Other names in the hat include the bloc’s Brexit negotiator, Frenchman Michel Barnier, or Margrethe Vestager, Denmark’s current member of the European Commission, who slapped hefty fines on global tech giants Google and Apple.
Many in the EU expect another summit on May 28, two days after the European Parliament vote, to let the bloc’s national leaders and outgoing top officials discuss the results and agree on next steps, as they did five years ago after the last election.
