Outcome of the meetings of EU leaders of 14-15 December 2017

Briefing 12-01-2018

On 14-15 December 2017, EU Heads of State or Government convened in four different settings with varying compositions and levels of formality: a regular summit of the European Council, a Leaders’ Meeting on migration, a European Council (Article 50) meeting, and an enlarged Euro Summit. While the European Council meeting adopted conclusions focused on security and defence, social policy, education and culture, the informal debate on migration concentrated on the reform of the Dublin Regulation, in particular on the relocation mechanisms for asylum-seekers. The European Council also discussed tax evasion, welcomed the outcome of the One Planet Summit in Paris, agreed to roll over the sanctions on Russia in response to the annexation of Crimea, and reiterated the EU’s firm commitment to the two-state solution for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The main results of the European Council (Article 50) meeting were the decision that 'sufficient progress' has been achieved to proceed to the second phase of Brexit negotiations, and the adoption of guidelines in this respect. While there were no formal conclusions at the Euro Summit meeting, participants agreed to focus on areas where the convergence of views is the greatest, most notably the completion of the Banking Union and the transformation of the ESM into a European Monetary Fund.