Charles Michel, the European Council president, opened today’s session.
He welcomed Enrico Letta, who prepared a report on the future of Europe’s single market for the leaders’ consideration.
Today’s talks will focus on competitiveness.
Michel told leaders that “we face several serious challenges: climate change and the green deal, digital revolution, the need to invest in security and defence, and on top of that, we know that we have some demographic challenges that we need to take into account.”
“It means that the single market and the economic base is our best asset, it’s our best strength, and we need to identify what we should do to make sure that this asset can be developed, can be used so that we address the different challenges.”
The prime ministers of Malta and Spain met bilaterally ahead of leaders’ discussions today.
“From fostering peace to prioritising humanitarian aid, stability remains paramount for our Mediterranean region,” the Maltese leader, Robert Abela, said.
Started the day by meeting my friend @sanchezcastejon on current issues in the Middle East. From fostering peace to prioritising humanitarian aid, stability remains paramount for our Mediterranean region. - RA pic.twitter.com/GjCAzV17eJ
Croatia’s ruling conservatives win most seats in election, but without majority
Croatia’s ruling conservative party won the most seats in parliamentary elections, but not enough to form a government, according to almost complete official results.
The prime minister, Andrej Plenković’s Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) has won 60 seats in the 151-member assembly, results from more than 90% of the polling stations have showed. In the previous 2020 election, the party won 66 seats.
A centre-left coalition led by the Social Democrats (SDP) won 42 seats, and the nationalist rightwing Homeland Movement party came third, with 14 seats.
Turnout was 60%, compared with 47% during the 2020 vote and followed a bitter campaign between Plenković, and leftwing populist president Zoran Milanović, who campaigned despite a court warning.
Plenković has repeatedly accused Milanović of being “pro-Russian” due to his criticism of EU backing for Ukraine against Moscow’s invasion and the president’s opposition to training Ukrainian soldiers in Croatia, which is a Nato member.
Milanović, who has condemned Russia’s campaign in Ukraine, has argued that he was protecting Croatian interests by preventing the country from being “dragged into war”.
Enrico Letta, a former Italian prime minister and the author of a report the leaders are discussing on the economy, said “there’s no time to waste.”
“The gap between the European Union and the US in terms economic performance is becoming bigger and bigger,” he said when arriving for the leaders’ meeting.
He argued for eliminating fragmentation, starting with energy, telecoms and financial markets.
Like Poland’s Donald Tusk, the Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas, has been pushing fellow EU leaders to do more to help Ukraine.
“Israel’s success in intercepting Iran’s attack shows the power of cooperation and help from partners. It must also remind us to help Ukraine,” she said last night.
My message to EU leaders: let's demonstrate the will to defeat Russian aggression.
Israel’s success in intercepting Iran’s attack shows the power of cooperation and help from partners. It must also remind us to help Ukraine. They are under daily drone and missile attacks.#EUCOpic.twitter.com/EaO9lQBCYH
Michel 'optimistic' on competitiveness conclusions
Arriving for the second day of the meeting, the European Council president, Charles Michel, said that competitiveness is a fundamental issue for Europe, and that the EU is facing a complicated challenge.
“I’m optimistic that we’ll agree on ambitious conclusions. We need to put in place a new competitiveness deal, this is the purpose, this is the goal,” he said.
Polish prime minister blasts Europe over gap between rhetoric and action
Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, has issued another one of his sharply-worded posts criticising Europe’s approach to defence.
“If all the words that were said in the last years here in Brussels about common defence, could be changed into bullets and rocket launchers, Europe would have become the strongest power in the world. And the safest place,” he said.
If all the words that were said in the last years here in Brussels about common defence, could be changed into bullets and rocket launchers, Europe would have become the strongest power in the world. And the safest place.
