We publish a note from SirEuropa about the Council of Europe that ended in Brussels yesterday. It’s not yet, of course, a "united Europe"; but it certainly is a Union that expressly realises it has big common problems and needs to join forces and face them. Regardless of the individual, effective results achieved by the Council of Europe of 15th and 16th October, it has been important to see, in Brussels, the French Nicolas Sarkozy walk arm-in-arm with the English Gordon Brown, the German Angela Merkel talk tête-à-tête with the Eastern leaders, diplomats and "sherpas" polishing off the bills of law to be submitted to the 27 heads of state and government, who met to tackle several issues. The list is long: the financial crisis, the climate-environment package, the immigration and asylum strategy, the process for the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, as well as many crucial foreign-policy issues, first and foremost the situation in Georgia.” “Not that everything worked out fine at the Justus Lipsius building, where the Council is based. In fact, there have been quite a few differences, especially about the commitments to be taken to fight climate change. Early this year, the EU had reached an agreement that had been signed by all the member states to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions (-20%) by 2020, increase the rate of renewable energies (+20%) and energy efficiency (+20%). But now that such decisions have to be put in practice, and their costs and impacts on their national productive systems have to be measured too, some states have been tempted to step back. Europe replies: go ahead, while keeping into account the states’ legitimate requests.” “More agreement has been found at the summit on the response to the migratory phenomena and even more on the measures to be taken to fight the instability of the financial markets, which is threatening the families’ savings, the work of businesses and banks, the public accounts. The launch of national policies by the 15 states of the euro-zone (worth about 2 billion euros), with the "blessing" of the EU, might be a response, not adequate but at least brave. The 27 member states also re-proposed the idea of an international summit (G14, i.e. the G8 countries plus China, India, Brazil, Mexico, South-Africa, Egypt) to be held "before the end of the year" to make comparisons among the world’s main economies. ” “However, the climate of mutual agreement that could be breathed in Brussels did not show so much when they addressed the other point on the agenda, that is, the future of the Lisbon Treaty. Pressed by the sub-prime emergency, the EU basically postponed the problem to the next summit, in December. ” “
