A small table with wine and three European leaders: the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, the French president Emmanuel Macron and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The three met at Brussels in a long and informal interview night in the bar of the Amigo hotel, where they are staying for the two days of European Council. The meeting, earlier than the official schedule, took place in a relaxed atmosphere with toasts and laughter. There was no shortage of topics for discussion: the Stability Pact and the revision of the multiannual financial framework, enlargement to Ukraine and disagreements over European budget spending. But judging by the facial expressions, they're talking about everything, not just politics. Who knows if this informal trilateral will be enough to untie all the knots and prepare the extraordinary Ecofin meeting on 20 December.
The bilateral meeting between Macron and Meloni lasted at least an hour before Scholz joined the meeting. At the end of the meeting, Meloni and Scholz avoided statements, while Macron reported positively to journalists: "The meeting went very well, it was an excellent discussion."
The comparison with Mario Draghi. The "night summit" was held after the accusations, later denied, by Giorgia Meloni to the former prime minister: “Europe is not made up of three but of 27”. Yet he brought important issues to the table with the two European leaders according to the main agencies.
The issues of the European Council: Stability Pact and Ukraine
In the next few hours, attention will focus on the European Council, with the issue of Stability pact which could lead Italy to invoke a veto to avoid compromises deemed punitive. In parallel, the review of the 2021-2027 budget saw Rome and Paris lined up on opposite sides to Germany and the frugal countries, with requests for greater resources for migrants and innovation.
On the opening of negotiations for theKiev's entry into the EU the Turkey issue remains, according to which "the start of negotiations would be a mistake". Sources at Palazzo Chigi indicate that a bilateral agreement is being worked on between Meloni and the Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban. Meloni will have to face the difficult challenge of persuading the Turkish president to support Ukraine's membership, outlining the delicate European dynamics at play.
Agreement on the reform of the EU electricity market
Member states and European parliamentarians have reached a crucial agreement on electricity market reform of European Union. The main intent is “to incentivize investment in zero-carbon energy sources, including nuclear, and at the same time moderate costs for consumers,” the European Council announced in a press release.
The agreement, the result of a night of intense negotiations, was praised as a significant step towards the long-term stabilization of markets and the acceleration of the adoption of renewable, non-fossil energy. The Spanish Minister of Energy, Theresa Rivera, underlined the importance of the agreement, especially considering that Spain currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU.
