EU leaders gather for Council meeting for first time since European elections
Leaders from the 28 member states of the European Union will meet for the European Council Summit today in Brussels. The summit will adopt the EU Strategic Agenda and decide on appointments to EU governance bodies for the institutional term 2019-2024.
The new terms for the Presidents of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the EU Foreign Policy High Representative commence on November 1, while that for the European Council President begins on December 1.
The current Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, French President Emmanuel Macron and Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel have indicated their preference for German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the next Commission chief.
Merkel as the Commission President is likely to plan for regional stability and climate change action in Europe. She has indicated towards developing a more independent geopolitical role of the EU in the face of Russian interference in Ukraine’s sovereignty, China’s emergence in the global economic power space and the impact of the ongoing US-China trade war.
Moscow’s energy supplies are important for the EU, but their foreign policy remains conditional upon economic sanctions. The next Brussels leadership is likely to make new Russian investments in more developed European states – such as the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to Germany – contingent upon reforms in Moscow’s external relations.
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