Meeting in Brussels, the European Council has been looking at the crisis in Ukraine, ways of fighting terrorism and the further development of Economic and Monetary Union. The heads of state and government thanked Chancellor Angela Merkel and President François Hollande for their efforts to find a solution to the Ukraine crisis.
The informal meeting of the European Council is over. Three main points were discussed.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko reported on the results of their negotiations in Minsk. For Angela Merkel, the Declaration of Minsk represents a glimmer of hope. Now the words must be followed up by action. Difficulties might be encountered. The European Council supports the initiative of Angela Merkel and François Hollande to push ahead with the peace process.
We are perfectly aware that great efforts will have to be made to implement the agreement and are retaining an open mind on the appropriate response. "If things go well, we will be happy to support this process. If there are difficulties we cannot discount the option of additional sanctions."
Reporting on the Minsk package of measures the Chancellor said that it supplements the Minsk Protocol signed in September 2014. "We have done our best to overcome the difficulties in implementing the Minsk agreements with this package of measures, in spite of all the uncertainties involved; we always depend on the good will of all those who must implement it," said Angela Merkel.
The fight against terrorism was the second point on the agenda in Brussels. The heads of state and government agreed to better coordinate action to counter the threat of terrorism. The summit statement says, " We will further reinforce action against terrorist threats, in full compliance with human rights and the rule of law." Because, it continues the fundamental values and human rights that are at the heart of the European Union are "solidarity, freedom, including freedom of expression, pluralism, democracy, tolerance and human dignity".
The statement calls on EU legislators to adopt "a strong and effective European Passenger Name Records directive with solid data protection safeguards". Full use should be made of the existing Schengen framework. Preventing radicalisation is one key element in the fight against terrorism. The statement also points out that the EU needs to "engage more with third countries on security issues and counter-terrorism".
Another point on the agenda of the meeting was the further development of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The Presidents of the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Eurogroup have been asked to analyse the weaknesses of the European Monetary Union and report on these.
The heads of state and government discussed closer coordination of economic policy within the EMU. This will also be on the agenda of the European Council meeting in March.
Before the meeting Chancellor Angela Merkel had said that she was looking forward to meeting Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for the first time. She believes that a compromise can be found regarding Greece’s debt. Europe always aims to broker compromises, she said, but the benefits must outweigh the disadvantages. For Europe’s credibility it is also essential, continued Angela Merkel, "that we respect the rules".
During the meeting Alexis Tsipras briefly outlined his ideas. "We all agreed, however, that the finance ministers should continue the discussion in more depth, particularly within the Eurogroup," said the Chancellor at the closing press conference.
To prepare the Eurogroup meeting next Monday, representatives of the ECB, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission and Greece are meeting today in Brussels. They will be exploring ways of reconciling the assistance programme for Greece with the plans of the new Greek government.