The relationship maintained with the United States is of fundamental importance, the European Union is ready to deepen it, however, fulfilling the priorities of the strategic agenda, we must actively work to create a strong and sovereign Europe, stated Charles Michel, President of the European Council, in his invitation letter to the unofficial EU summit in Budapest. which he sent to the leaders of the member states.
In his invitation letter to the two-day meeting, which will begin with a working dinner on Thursday evening and was also published on the Internet, Michel underlined that the participating heads of state and government should continue a strategic discussion on transatlantic relations. He suggested that this discussion should focus on bilateral relations, security and the geopolitical situation, not least Ukraine, as well as global challenges and international cooperation, including climate change.
According to Charles Michel, the leaders will address the post-election situation in Georgia at the working dinner and discuss further necessary steps in this regard.
They are discussing EU support to the UN, with particular regard to the law on the international organization's Palestinian Relief Agency (UNWRA), recently adopted by the Israeli parliament, which stops the mission's operations in the Palestinian territories and Gaza. The implementation of the regulation makes it impossible for UNRWA to fulfill its mandate, Michel pointed out, and then added: the leaders of the member states will discuss the consequences of the introduction of the regulation for the European Union's relationship with Israel.
On Friday, strengthening the competitiveness of the Union will be the main topic at the summit
Charles Michel said.
"The situation is very worrying. The competitiveness reports by Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi serve as a wake-up call. In the last twenty years, the EU's share of the world's GDP has halved. The survival of a competitive union is at stake. We must act now!” he said.
The planned meeting with the participation of former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, former President of the European Central Bank, and Christine Lagarde, current President of the European Central Bank, should be aimed at creating concrete strategies that will reverse the current direction, enable recovery for European companies, promote innovation, exploit the strengths of the single market and support sustainable growth, he said.
"I would like to see us have a real policy exchange about how we fund our aspirations and take stock of what tools we have at our disposal"
he said.
Charles Michel expressed his hope that the participants of the informal summit will achieve significant progress by exploiting the potential of the joint force, which, as he wrote, will lay the groundwork for the course of action in the coming months.
"I am convinced that our strength lies in our unity, which requires trust and respect among the 27 member states. I am sure that we can achieve great things together," concluded the soon-to-be outgoing President of the European Council.
MTI
Front page photo: Charles Michel, President of the Council of the European Union, will arrive at the Puskás Arena on November 7, 2024 for the European Political Community (EPC) meeting in Budapest.
MTI/Koszticsák Solid
