Politics
(Strasbourg) “On 24 June, I had a terrible feeling. It was a huge disappointment to me”. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has served as rotating president of the Council of Ministers of the EU for the first semester of this year. Today, he is at the European Parliament in Strasbourg to report on the work carried out. He acknowledges the achievements of the Dutch presidency while also stressing that the past few months have been intense and fraught with difficulties on issues like the economy, security, and migration. As for the Brexit, he reveals: “We do not know exactly what the consequences of the divorce” from London will be, “but what is sure is that Europe’s problems will not disappear. There is widespread euroscepticism in many countries, including mine. We must now try to redefine our relationship with the United Kingdom as soon as possible to limit the negative fallout on both EU and UK citizens”. Then some pro-European remarks from a PM who has not been particularly vocal on this in the past: “The answer to some of our common problems can only be greater cooperation among Member States. The migration issue is a clear example”. Are you satisfied with the deal that was struck with Turkey under your presidency? “Well, the deal is not perfect, but we needed it to put an end to the industry of human trafficking in the Aegean Sea. And there are still too many deaths in our seas”.
