Seen as an opportunity to relaunch
\nthe European project after Brexit, the summit in Bratislava has revealed a
\nseries of topics European institutions and member states need to concentrate on
\nin the coming period. These are mainly linked to internal and external
\nsecurity, from measures to combat terrorism to border security and the
\nrelationships with the North African countries. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
No sooner did the summit end that
\ncritical voices started to be heard, both those of some European leaders and
\npolitical commentators. The harshest reaction came from the Italian prime
\nminister Matteo Renzi, who said the summit in Bratislava was a failed
\nopportunity to take some concrete measures, in particular with regard to
\nmigration. In an interview to the daily Corriere della Sera, Renzi said the
\nsummit’s final declaration does not contain a single line about the European
\nUnion’s commitments to help the countries in Africa, about combating migration
\nor about a social Europe. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In Berlin, German chancellor Angela
\nMerkel later admitted to the differences that still persist in Europe over the
\nissue of refugees, as well as the failure of her idea to impose refugee quotas
\non the other EU member states. Accepting that mistakes were made in how the
\nsituation was managed, the German leader defended, however, her decision to
\nopen the borders to migrants, saying it was a humanitarian matter, as many of
\nthem were coming from Syria. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In his State of the Union address,
\nEuropean Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said that since 2004,
\nthere have been more than 30 terrorist attacks in Europe, 14 in the last year
\nalone. He added that faced with these
\nthreats to the European way of life, the European Commission has prioritised
\nsecurity from day one. Jean-Claude Juncker:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
By November, we will propose a new European Travel Information System <\/strong>to determine who will be allowed to
<\/p>\n
Jean-Claude Juncker again spoke about the new
<\/p>\n
Our children deserve better. They deserve
<\/p>\n
The European
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Seen as an opportunity to relaunch the European project after Brexit, the summit in Bratislava has revealed a series of topics European institutions and member states need to concentrate on in the coming period.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":155540,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43939],"tags":[29966],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-155539","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-future-starts-today","tag-european-union"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\ntravel to Europe. With regard to the security of our borders, we must
\nprioritise information and intelligence exchange. For this, we will reinforce Europol because we will have better access to
\na larger amount of data and will provide it with more resources to carry out
\nits tasks. This must in agreement with our ambitions, and Europe must
\nalso protect itself beyond its borders. The world is getting bigger and Europe
\nis getting smaller, both demographically and economically. If we wish to
\nmaintain our influence on an international level, it is clear that we must work
\ntogether as only together will we be able to tackle the difficulties we
\nface.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nEuropean border guard and requested extra border guards to be deployed at the
\nBulgarian external borders. He also stood for the creation of a European
\ndefence fund and a European Union army. In his State of the Union address,
\nJuncker tackled unemployment as well. He recalled that the unemployment rate in
\nEurope is still too high, despite the creation of 8 million new jobs since
\n2013. Social inequality persists, so we should do more to ensure social rights,
\none of Europe’s main pillars, said Jean-Claude Juncker. The European Commission
\nalso proposes a reform of the EU telecommunications markets to deploy 5G across
\nthe Union by 2025 and double the European investment fund. Moreover, Europe
\nneeds to be better explained, because, in the words of Jean-Claude Juncker:<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\na Europe that preserves and defends their way of life. It is time we – the
\ninstitutions, the governments, the citizens – all took responsibility for
\nbuilding that Europe together. I know there are certain debates about the
\nfuture of Europe, there are optimists and pessimists who are against
\neverything. I believe, however, that Europe has a mission at home and in the
\nworld. Between the pessimists, who only see the mistakes, and the optimists,
\nwho only paint a rosy picture, there are those who do not give up and keep
\nworking to build something for the future generations. I am calling for a
\nsolution to our differences. History will not remember our names, but the
\nstrength of our solutions and convictions. History will remember our mistakes
\nand hold us to account for what we do in this generation.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\nleaders do not know how to bring the Union closer to citizens, warns
\ncommentator Jan Kovac from the Institute of International Relations in Prague.
\nIn his opinion, the Union’s only option is to adopt policies in areas that
\naffect as many people as possible. <\/p>\n