Striving for unity; European Council report

Brussels [ENA] The report details the work of the European Council from May 2016 to June 2018 and, as President Tusk puts it in his introduction, "shows how the Union's political unity was maintained and strengthened in the face of multiple threats and challenges: unprecedented migratory pressures, shifts in geopolitics, a sustained terror threat, an uncertain economic outlook and the decision by British voters to leave."

The publication is structured according to these multiple challenges and contains photos, some key infographics, and for reference, all the European Council conclusions as well as selected statements from May 2016 to June 2018. In conclusion: Only a united Europe can be a sovereign Europe. The true foundation of this unity is not a bureaucratic model. It is a set of common values and democratic standards which must be respected – human rights and civil liberties, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly, checks and balances, and the rule of law. It is the recognition that Europe is a territorial, cultural and political community – no better or worse than – but different from, the rest of the world.

Today, we must remember forgotten truths: Europe united to avoid another historic catastrophe and the times of European unity have always been the continent’s best. If Europe is strong, our countries are strong. Europe as a political entity will either be united, or it will not be at all. The Treaties of Rome began a process of bringing European countries back to freedom and prosperity, east and west.

The achievements of the period covered in this report – managing Brexit, bringing migration flows down, global market opening and working for a stronger European defence – show how EU leaders have over the last two years successfully reconciled Europe’s dynamism and unity by being ambitious and staying together at the same time. As the proverb says, ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’

Tusk adds: "I believe in liberal democracy: imperfect and fragile, under-appreciated and violated, defenceless at times, but alternative-less. Defending our liberal democracies is our first, second and third obligation. Liberal democracy is no synonym of weakness. But we need to remember that justice without force is powerless and force without justice is tyrannical."

To put it bluntly: there will not be a Europe as we know it, if there are no borders and no law enforcement – and there will not be a Europe we desire, if it is taken over from within by our political barbarians. The realisation that we have a common border and territory must bring us together again, instead of dividing us for good. We should try to reconcile the need for security with freedom, and the need for control with openness. Only a wise synthesis will be our victory.