Here are some excerpts of the
statements made by some of the leaders of the European Union at their meeting
in Malta where such as migration, new US president Donald Trump and ways to
strengthen the union.
Speaking ahead of the foremost
gathering of the leaders of the EU, since the emergence of Donald Trump as the
US president, the EU president Donald Tusk released a strong warning to leaders
of the various country that “worrying declarations” of Trump’s new
administration, which he lumped together with the geopolitical challenges posed
by Russia, China and Islamic terrorism as examples of the threats facing the
EU.
The EU president also asked
leaders to renew their commitment to the union, by committing to “an ambitious
vision” of “political consolidation,” according to a document obtained by
POLITICO. The document will be circulated on Friday afternoon after British
Prime Minister Theresa May has left.
The leaders have retreated behind
closed doors for the (late) afternoon working session on the Rome Treaties.
VISENTINI CRITICIZES LIBYA DEAL
Making his comment at the end of
the informal summit at Valletta, the General Secretary of the European Trade
Union Confederation, Luca Visetini stated that: “The EU has decided to pay
Libya, with a government that controls only a part of the country, to keep
refugees and migrants out of Europe. To make matters worse they are paying for
this out of development funds.
“It would be like Trump getting
Mexico to pay for the border wall, except the EU has come up with a way to do
it.”
MORE HOLLANDE
About Donald Trump and Brexit:
“He should not get involved in what the life of the EU is.
“He can have an opinion, but it
is up to Europe to decide how it wants to be and how it should live.”
Hollande also said Theresa May
had given “her impressions and confusions” on Trump during lunch. “She did it
by keeping the EU interest in mind.”
MUSCAT: ‘IMPORTANT PROGRESS AND UNITY’
On his part, the Prime Minister
of Malta Joseph Muscat expressed his happiness that at least for once issues
discussed about migration was hitch free. “This is the first time in quite a
number of months that on such a controversial subject the European Union and
all member states have managed to achieve important progress and unity” he said
in his press conference.
Muscat recognized the difficulty
of implementing a deal with the Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj who
barely controls the Libyan capital Tripoli: “We know that the Libyan government
faces challenges but that’s not a good reason not to engage,” he said.
FRANÇOIS HOLLANDE QUOTES
According to French President
François Hollande: “We have reached and achieved an additional step with Libya”
he said, referring to the agreement with Italy to reinforce coast guard.
Hollande on Trump: “There can be
different opinions among the 28 countries and some of these judgements can be
nuanced between us.
“There is unity in the EU to take
consideration what is going on” in the US.
“There are countries who have
reserves and others who have been well-intentioned towards what this new
administration represents.”
MERKEL EVASIVE ON RELATIONS BETWEEN MAY AND TRUMP
“I talked to her but not about
this. There has always been a very special relationship between the U.K. and
the U.S. I was gratified to hear Theresa May say she wanted to see a strong EU”
Merkel: Asked about U.S. and U.K.
suggestions they may lower corporation tax, “on tax issues I think it’s early
days … I see no reason to enter a race into seeing who has the lowest
corporation tax”
Merkel on Trump: “As a head of
government of Germany I see that on the one hand we have to nurture the values
in our FP that are important but also bear our interests in mind.
“Step by step we will try to
explore where there are common interests and where there are less than with
other US administrations.
“We are strong when we stand
together when we are willing to tackle our problems together.
“Looking ahead towards Rome we
need to show where we want to stand as opposed to other partners in the world.”
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