Politics
(Brussels) The traditional letter that the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, sends to the EU leaders the day before the summit (19-20 October) has different meanings and tones this time. Not just a list of items on the agenda with details of the times, meetings and business dinners, but a veritable schedule that extends up to mid-2019, that is, after Brexit and the election of the European Parliament. In his letter, in English, Tusk writes that stability and security must be given to the European Union, and the gap between the citizens and the European project must be filled by reviving political inclusion, so as to curb the particularisms that have followers all over the continent. A daunting text, that sets out three principles: “we must focus on practical solutions to the EU citizens’ real problems”; “we should move in steps”; “we must preserve the unity that we have managed to develop this last year”. Here comes his suggestion of the “two speeds”, to overcome the deadlock that the European Union is in: “We need an approach that will not prevent the governments moving on in specific areas, though leaving the door open to those who may want to join in later on. Unity cannot be an excuse for stagnation”.
