On Friday (October 22), local time, German Chancellor Angela Merkel went to Brussels to attend the EU summit. This may be the last time Merkel attended the meeting. At the meeting, Merkel’s 26 colleagues stood up and applauded to pay tribute to Merkel.
Before the summit began, the participants watched a review video about Merkel’s career at the summit and presented her with a farewell gift representing the building where the summit was held.
After the German elections last month, the country’s political parties are negotiating. Before the establishment of the new government, Merkel still served as prime minister as a caretaker government. If they fail to form a ruling coalition before mid-December, Merkel will return to Brussels for the next summit.
According to French media reports, Merkel participated in 107 EU summits. These summits have witnessed many major turning points in contemporary European history, including the European debt crisis, the Syrian refugee crisis, Brexit, and the establishment of the New Crown Epidemic Recovery Fund. The host of the summit and President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said: “You are a monument. The EU summit without Angra is like Rome without the Vatican or Paris without the Eiffel Tower.”
Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel called Merkel a “reconciliation machine” and described her as being able to “find things that unite us” in the long internal EU negotiations. He said: “Europe will miss her.”
The Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said: “She is a person who has truly left a mark in Europe for 16 years. In those difficult times, she helped all 27 countries with great human care. Make the right decision.”
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda hopes that Merkel, a “great politician”, can “stay on the political stage in one way or another.” Austrian Chancellor Schellenberg described Merkel as a “safe haven” within the EU, and her departure “will leave a hole.”
Former US President Barack Obama also sent a video speech. In the video, he called Merkel “a major pillar in many storms” and expressed his pleasure to be her friend.
However, Merkel herself expressed her concern about the prospects of the European Union. She said: “I will leave the European Union at a worrying point in time. We have overcome many crises, but we still have a series of outstanding issues.” She said. Here comes the disputes about immigration, economics and EU legal issues.
At this Brussels summit, Merkel once again relied on her soft power skills to ease Poland’s fierce dispute over the rejection of the EU’s legal order. Foreign media commented that her mediation role reflects Germany’s status as an economic powerhouse in the EU, and also reflects Germany’s influence on many former Soviet bloc countries. After these countries joined the EU, the political balance has tilted from Paris to Berlin.
(Edit: Ah Qian)Return to Sohu to see more
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