EU summit 2015

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The 2015 EU Summit took place from March 19-20, 2015 in Brussels , Belgium . The chair was the Polish politician Donald Tusk , President of the European Council since 2014 .

subjects

The central topics of the meeting were the Ukraine conflict and relations with Russia , the creation of an energy union and once again the economic situation in Greece .

Russia

The summit participants discussed Russia's role in the Ukraine conflict. In the course of the negotiations, the heads of state and government finally agreed to make implementation of the Minsk peace plan a condition for lifting the sanctions against Russia. The trade and investment restrictions, which were limited to the end of July, were initially extended to the end of the year. The sanctions consisted primarily of a ban on supplying Russian companies with special technology for oil production and an export ban on military goods. The EU called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to use his influence on the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine to settle the conflict and to stop providing military support for the separatists. It was also demanded that the separatists hand over control of the borders in eastern Ukraine back to the government in Kiev , as well as the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia . Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President François Hollande proposed linking the sanctions to the peace plan in the run-up to the EU summit.

Energy union

Another topic at the summit was the creation of an energy union. The European Council agreed on the first steps and committed itself to "ensuring affordable, safe and sustainable energy in the EU". In connection with this topic, the security of energy supply and the transparency of gas supply contracts were discussed in particular. It was also in favor of developing "innovative strategies for a new generation of renewable energy sources" in order to increase energy efficiency .

Greece

The situation in Greece was discussed again during the summit . During the summit meeting, Chancellor Merkel, French President Hollande, met EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker , EU Council President Tusk, Euro-group boss Jeroen Dijsselbloem and ECB President Mario Draghi with the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras together to To discuss the situation in a small group. This meeting was in line with Prime Minister Tsipras' request, but it led to anger among some of the summit participants. After the talks it was announced that Greece had committed itself to providing a full list of its own reform proposals and putting them into practice. This is a prerequisite for donors to release the 7.2 billion euros still available from the extended aid program. "The sooner these reforms are known, the sooner this information is known, the sooner the Eurogroup will be able to make a decision," said French President François Hollande. However, no specific timetable was given. Chancellor Merkel called for a quick implementation. EU Commission chief Juncker, EU summit chief Tusk and Eurogroup chief Dijsselbloem emphasized in a joint statement that the basis of the agreed aid is the agreement of the euro finance ministers of February 20, 2015. After the meeting, the Greek prime minister said "We are more optimistic after the deliberations. " He stressed: "All sides have tried to do their best to solve the problems of the Greek economy."

Eastern Partnership and European Semester

The European Council also agreed on the goals of the Eastern Partnership summit on May 21 and 22, 2015 in Riga . The priority is to strengthen the democratic institutions in the east.

In connection with the conclusion of the European Semester in 2015, the European Council discussed the economic situation in Europe and the implementation of structural reforms by the Member States.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c EU wants to extend sanctions against Russia. Summit in Brussels. faz.net, March 19, 2015, accessed November 14, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c Greece promises quick reforms. Relaxation after the EU summit. faz.net, March 20, 2015, accessed November 14, 2017 .
  3. ↑ The peak of saving face. Crisis meeting in Brussels. spiegel.de, March 20, 2015, accessed on November 14, 2017 .
  4. ↑ So Merkel and Hollande have to do it alone. EU crisis management. sueddeutsche.de, March 20, 2015, accessed on November 14, 2017 .
  5. ↑ a b European Council, 19-20 March 2015. europa.eu, March 20, 2015, accessed on November 14, 2017 .