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Dear
President, members of the European Parliament, before discussing the
political consequences of the UK referendum, I will first report on the
other results of the June European Council, because the EU cannot stand
still. The referendum in the UK does not relieve the EU of its duty to
solve the migration crisis, which has undermined the sense of security
across the whole of Europe. The EU must also boost its resistance to
growing hybrid and cyber threats. To this end we adopted a decision on
increased cooperation with NATO. Even in the UK referendum campaign, few
questioned the fact that economic integration among member states
benefits Europeans, as it creates jobs. This is why we have made the
decision to work more closely together in the areas of digital and
capital markets. The decisions taken during the summit will have a
positive impact on the lives of Europeans, regardless of the UK leaving
the EU.
On
migration: the leaders reviewed the situation on our external borders.
Crossings from Turkey to the Greek islands have now almost come to a
halt. In October 2015, that border was crossed irregularly by seven
thousand people daily. Now it is around fifty per day. Given this
significantly lower influx, we can now efficiently manage this part of
our external border. This, in turn, should restore the sense of security
in Europe, which was our aim from the beginning.
Now
our attention will focus on the Central Mediterranean route, where
flows of predominantly economic migrants remain too high, although there
has not been a significant rise in numbers compared to the last two
years. Leaders agreed to move to a new way of working with third
countries, applying the necessary leverage to ensure fast and
operational returns of illegal migrants. The aim is clear: all irregular
economic migrants must be returned to their countries of origin.
The
High Representative is already taking negotiations with these countries
forward. We also addressed Libya and what needs to be done to stabilise
the situation there.
More
broadly, we welcomed the presentation by the High Representative of a
new global strategy to guide the Union's foreign and security policy.
The
leaders thanked Prime Minister Rutte for a very professional Dutch
presidency and the hard work over the past six months. This includes the
arrangement with Turkey to stem migration flows to the Greek islands
and also the political agreement on the new European Border and Coast
Guard. I would like to thank this House for your invaluable contribution
in helping to achieve this in the necessary timeframe.
Let
me now turn to Brexit, where our discussion was calm and measured.
Respecting the will of the British people, the EU leaders recognised
that a process of orderly exit is now in everyone's, and especially in
the UK's, interest. Prime Minister Cameron explained why he is leaving
the decision to trigger Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union to
the new leadership in Britain. The leaders understand that some time is
needed to allow the political landscape to settle in Britain. But they
also expect the intentions of the UK government to be specified as soon
as possible.
We
also considered the post-Brexit economic situation in the presence of
the European Central Bank President, who reassured us about the
cooperation of international financial institutions. However, it was
also made clear that Brexit means substantially lower growth in the UK,
with a possible negative spillover all over the world.
For
the second day of our summit the leaders met informally without the UK
Prime Minister to discuss our common future. I would like to reassure
you that the leaders are absolutely determined to remain united and work
closely together as 27. We also agreed that there will be no
negotiations of any kind until the UK formally notifies its intention to
withdraw from the EU. It is now up to the British government to submit
such a notification to the European Council.
We
hope to have the UK as a close partner in the future. But leaders made
it clear that access to the single market means acceptance of all four
freedoms, including the freedom of movement. We will not sell off our
freedoms and there will be no single market "à la carte".
This
was the first exchange of the 27 leaders after the British referendum.
It is still too early to draw conclusions more broadly on our future
course. But it is clear that too many people in Europe are unhappy with
the current state of affairs, be it on the national or European level,
and expect us to do better. The leaders recalled during our debate that
for decades Europe has brought hope and that we have a responsibility to
return to that. This is why the EU-27 will meet informally on 16
September in Bratislava, kindly hosted by the Slovak presidency. We will
take this opportunity to continue our political reflection. Thank
you.
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