At the end, the big-league meeting didn’t generate much to speak of.
But this is not unusual for the EU decision-making process.
With respect to the nomination of people for the Brussels top jobs, leaders kicked the can down the road – with a Stop sign already next weekend, when there’s gonna be another summit.
When it comes to the actual topics, things aren’t necessarily brighter.
Climate
On climate policy, arguably the most pressing issue, leaders decided, well, nothing.
Migration
Throughout a lot of summits and a European election campaign largely shaped by the consequences of a failed migration policy, nothing has changed.
Elena Cavallone has established a migration report card – Europe could do better
Four more years
In the United States, Donald Trump has officially launched his re-election campaign.
That’s good news or bad news, depending on where you stand.
Actually, it’s not news at all. His campaign filed the necessary paperwork on the day he was inaugurated!
What does it mean for Europe? Peter Chase from the German Marshall Fund thinks the tide could turn.
“If he continues along the path that he’s on and the way in which he has, I think, consciously been pushing the Europeans hard and uncomfortably and in a way that they are not accustomed to, yes, it’s quite possible that in another four years the relationship could be much more divisive.
But one thing that I think Europeans need to bear in mind is that when George W. Bush ran for a second term, the policy in his first term and his second term were very different, specifically with respect to the EU. So it’s not impossible that Mr. Trump too can make a change.”
Next week
And here’s a look at some top events next week:
On Wednesday, the environment ministers of the EU meet in Luxembourg.
On the agenda are plastics and marine litter, water re-use and a sustainable chemicals policy.
On Thursday negotiations between the EU and the Mercosur countries from South America continue in Brussels.
Substantial progress has been made over the past few months, but some difficult areas remain unresolved, notably agriculture.
And on Friday, the two-day G20 summit starts in Osaka, Japan.
Among the top issues are trade, cybersecurity and climate change.
The G20 countries represent almost 90 percent of global GDP.
That does it for us today, I’m Stefan Grobe and you can follow me on Twitter. Thank you for watching.
Last Word
This week the last word goes to Prime Minister Leo Varadkar of Ireland.
He was pretty relaxed about not having a new Commission president yet – or not having white smoke yet.
