Leaders of the European Union will descend on Rome on Saturday, 25 March. They will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, the EU’s founding treaty.
While the subject of the meeting is the future of the EU (a future they will face without the United Kingdom), there will of course be plenty of other issues to keep them busy.
From Brexit, the continuing terrorism threat, to the fallout from the Dutch election and the trepidation about the upcoming French election, all will provide ample conversation starters.
The Prime Ministers and Presidents will arrive in the Italian capital having breathed a huge sigh of relief that the Dutch election saw off the prospect of a Geert Wilders victory. The coalition forming process in the Netherlands is, however, unlikely to be completed quickly.
Much diplomatic effort over the past few days has also been focused on ensuring the EU – both the institutions and the 27 remaining members – are prepared for when UK Prime Minister Theresa May pulls the Article 50 Brexit trigger, now confirmed for Wednesday 29 March. It will mark the formal ‘beginning of the end’ for the UK’s membership of the club it joined in 1973.
But the substance of the Rome meeting will be devoted to the celebration of the anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, and the big question of what’s next for the EU? The European Commission recently kick-started preparations by publishing its ‘White Paper on the Future of Europe’, an attempt to steer the discussions and influence the debate.
Member States will be looking to agree upon a declaration spelling out the bloc’s vision for the coming years. It will both look back at the Union’s achievements over the past 60 years, outline the challenges it faces, and present a joint future vision. As for the content and its wider implications for the EU, time will only tell.
The summit could yet prove eventful and the mood won’t all be celebratory. There is likely to be discussion over the notion of a ‘multispeed’ Europe; can or should some EU countries integrate more quickly than others in certain policy areas? While advocated by the Commission in its white paper, some Central and Eastern European governments have already voiced their disquiet, fearing second-class membership of the club. Moreover, the Polish government remains angry, having failed in its recent attempt to block its compatriot Donald Tusk’s re-election as European Council President for domestic political reasons.
At the end of yet another long week for the EU, a Polish surprise cannot quite be ruled out.