European Council, 14-15/12/2017

On 14 December, EU leaders adopted conclusions on security and defense, social issues, education and culture, climate change, and Jerusalem. On 15 December, EU27 leaders assessed the progress of Brexit negotiations and deemed it sufficient to initiate the next phase. They approved guidelines for the second phase of Brexit negotiations. EU27 leaders also discussed the future of the economic and monetary union and the banking union during the Euro Summit.
EU leaders welcomed the launch of permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) in the field of defense. They emphasized the importance of rapid implementation of the first joint projects. The European Council called for the approval of the following in 2018: the European Industrial Development Programme in the field of defense, to fund the first capability development projects in 2019; a Council recommendation on a new instrument for capacity building to support security and development after 2020.
EU leaders expect the Council to complete the reform of the “Athena” mechanism. This is the instrument used to finance the common costs of EU military missions and operations. The European Council also discussed EU-NATO cooperation. Leaders called for the full implementation of joint actions, including the additional proposals agreed on 5 December 2017.
EU leaders exchanged views on social issues, education, and culture. The discussion was based on the Leaders’ Agenda for education and culture as well as discussions at the Gothenburg Social Summit in November 2017. EU leaders emphasized priorities for further developing the EU’s social dimension, such as: implementing the European Pillar of Social Rights at EU and national level; facilitating the proper functioning of social dialogue at all levels; making progress on pending social files at EU level; following up on the priorities of the EU action plan to tackle the gender pay gap.
They also agreed to make more efforts in education and culture, including the following priorities: make the Erasmus+ program more inclusive and expanded; enable students to obtain a degree by combining studies in various EU countries; ensure that more young people speak at least two European foreign languages; promote cooperation for the mutual recognition of higher and secondary education qualifications.
EU leaders held a discussion on the external and internal dimensions of EU migration policy. They examined what has worked and what hasn’t over the past two years and discussed ways to strengthen the policy. The discussion aimed, among other things, to prepare the ground for reaching an agreement on asylum system reform by June 2018. The discussion was based on a note from President Tusk before the Summit, which focused on: preventing mass arrivals at external borders; addressing the root causes of migration; overcoming internal deadlocks that hinder policy development.
EU leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to the two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the capital of both states.
The European Council (Article 50), meeting in EU-27 format, reviewed the latest developments regarding Brexit negotiations. EU27 leaders agreed that sufficient progress has been made in the first phase of Brexit negotiations. On this basis, they approved the draft guidelines for starting the second phase of negotiations during which they will begin discussions on certain additional topics: transition period; the framework for the future relationship.
The Euro Summit discussed the future of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the banking union. EU leaders exchanged views on how to ensure that the EU has the necessary means to address potential economic shocks. The discussion was based on a note circulated by President Tusk before the Summit, as part of the Leaders’ Agenda. This note presented a series of ideas on which there is broad convergence, such as: putting into operation a common backstop for the Single Resolution Fund, possibly in the form of a credit line from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM); further development of the European Stability Mechanism, possibly evolving into the so-called European Monetary Fund; further development of the ECOFIN Council roadmap of June 2016 for completing the banking union, including the gradual introduction of a European deposit insurance scheme.