Outcome of the European Council of 25/26 June 2015: Post-European Council Briefing

Briefing 02-07-2015

What was intended to be a scheduled European Council on 25/26 June 2015 with a comprehensive draft agenda became a crisis European Council. Originally its agenda comprised initiatives corresponding to five of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker's ten political guidelines. However, and as predicted in the EPRS Outlook for the European Council, the Heads of State or Government spent much time discussing current developments in the Mediterranean and the future of Greece within the euro area, while issues such as CSDP, the digital single market and the European Semester received less attention than had been originally envisaged. The European Council's Conclusions nevertheless managed to address security and defence issues, jobs growth and competitiveness. Particular attention was paid to the topic of migration while the United Kingdom's plan for a referendum on Europe was also addressed.