There are still differences on the key issues that the EU wants to jointly meet the new challenges.

　　Xinhua News Agency, Granada, Spain, October 7th(International Observation) There are still differences on key issues for the EU to jointly meet new challenges.

　　Xinhua News Agency reporter Kang Yi Deng Yaomin Hu Jiaqi

　　The Third European Political Community Leaders’ Meeting and the Informal Meeting of EU Leaders were held in Granada, a city in southern Spain, from 5 to 6. The EU and the leaders of neighboring non-EU countries and regions discussed issues such as security, immigration and EU enlargement.

　　Analysts pointed out that the EU hopes to take advantage of the two summits to meet new challenges, show cohesion and enhance its influence, but the meeting exposed some problems of the EU itself. How to solve these problems so as to jointly meet new challenges will test the political wisdom and determination of European countries.

　　Emphasize joint response to new challenges.

　　During the two summits, EU leaders repeatedly mentioned many new challenges and crises facing the EU in the political and economic fields. Michelle, President of the European Council, said that the challenges such as COVID-19 epidemic, climate change, energy security, cyber threats and Ukrainian crisis are too great for a country to deal with alone. "Now it is more necessary than ever to take a strategic approach to deal with them together."

　　Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said that all the challenges facing Europe, from collective security to artificial intelligence, need a common answer from Europe.

　　The EU hopes that the two summits will serve as a link between the preceding and the following. They will not only assess the progress made by the EU in strengthening strategic autonomy, but also discuss the formulation of the EU’s next strategic agenda, so as to clarify the overall political guidance and direction of action as soon as possible for the EU that will usher in institutional change in the second half of next year.

　　According to the Granada Declaration issued by the informal meeting of EU leaders, EU member states agreed to strengthen security and defense; Improve resilience and global long-term competitiveness; Building a more cohesive, innovation-driven and interconnected single market; Strengthen supply chain diversification and promote partnership. Michelle said that the Granada Declaration is "a very important starting point" and the EU will continue consultations to determine the future strategic development direction.

　　The role of political community is not clear.

　　EU leaders have previously stated that this meeting of leaders of the European Political Community will become an important platform for resolving regional disputes. However, neither promoting peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan nor easing the situation in Kosovo achieved substantive results.

　　In May, 2022, French President Macron proposed the establishment of a European political community, within which EU countries and non-EU countries and regions can find new space for political cooperation. Although the mechanism has held three leaders’ meetings so far, its objectives and functions are still unclear. Due to the different interests and expectations of all parties, some leaders did not regard this mechanism as a suitable place for dialogue. Azerbaijani President Aliyev and Turkish President Erdogan were absent from this session.

　　Although the European Political Community emphasized at the beginning that it would neither replace the existing ones nor establish new organizations, structures or procedures at this stage, it remains to be seen whether the establishment of such a mechanism can really bring more regional policy coordination. Some analysts call each one-day European political community leaders’ meeting a "flash show", arguing that it lacks institutional depth, and its own role and relationship with the EU, NATO, OSCE and other institutions are not clear. Manfred Weber, president of the European People’s Party, believes that it is necessary to continue to develop European cooperation on the existing framework, that is, the framework of the European Union.

　　There are differences on key issues.

　　As the core topic of the two summits, the expansion of the alliance has caused widespread controversy. Many EU member states are worried that because the per capita GDP of countries wishing to join the EU is generally lower than the average level of the EU, if the EU accepts them, the existing member states will bear huge costs, which will lead to some current member states receiving assistance becoming donor countries. At the same time, there are also great differences among EU member states on key issues such as budget structure, seats in the European Parliament, reform of decision-making mechanism and timetable for EU enlargement.

　　Dutch Prime Minister Ruyt urged a "responsible" approach to EU enlargement. He said that many countries want to join the European Union, which means that we should persist in promoting the process of lasting reform on the basis of "merit-based admission" and at the same time consider the impact of EU enlargement. Michelle and Ursula von der Leyen also admitted that on the issue of EU enlargement, candidate countries must do their homework, "there is no shortcut, and there is no automatic accession".

　　Analysts pointed out that even if the EU enlargement is successful in the future, it will still be difficult for the 27-member EU to bridge its differences, and it will be even more difficult for more members to reach an agreement. Alberto Alemanno, a professor at HEC, said: "In fact, people’s enthusiasm for EU enlargement and reform is quite low."

　　In addition, the differences between EU countries on immigration issues are also very prominent, which almost led to the dystocia of the Granada Declaration. Poland and Hungary expressed strong dissatisfaction with the reform of the European immigration system, believing that it was the EU’s "mandatory order" to apportion the immigration issue indiscriminately. In the end, the immigration issue was not written into the declaration, and Michelle issued an independent statement on immigration in her own name.

　　Analysts believe that if the EU wants to meet the new challenges together, it must solve the problems exposed at the summit, handle internal differences and relations with the outside world, realize strategic autonomy and play a role as a pole of a multipolar world. How to solve the above problems will test the political wisdom and determination of European countries.