The initiative for the so-called “Two-speed Europe“, in which a group of European Union (EU) countries would advance on key policies without the participation of all 27 member states, will not be limited to the six initially invited countries and will remain open for others to join, Reuters reports ahead of the first meeting on the topic, BTA writes.
Finance and economy ministers of Germany, France, Poland, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands will discuss today in a video conference the possibility of a more flexible approach to decision-making within the EU.
The idea is that countries that want to advance faster in certain areas can do so through so-called ad hoc coalitions, without are awaiting unanimity from all member states. The format will allow for a different number of countries to participate depending on the specific project and will not be limited to a fixed group of participants, German officials said.
The meeting is taking place amid criticism from representatives of the administration of US President Donald Trump about the slow decision-making process in the EU. A similar approach to progress in smaller formats has already been applied in the past, including in the creation of the eurozone.
German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil said yesterday that “the time for a two-speed Europe has come“, stressing the need for faster and more effective action in the face of growing geopolitical uncertainty, weak economic growth and deep internal differences in the EU.
According to Reuters, in a letter to his colleagues, Klingbeil called on the participating countries to prepare a concrete program to strengthen European sovereignty and competitiveness. The document notes that the meeting aims to give The meeting is an initial push for the process and should be followed by a face-to-face discussion at an upcoming Eurogroup meeting (the eurozone finance ministers, including the Eurogroup president, representatives of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the executive director of the European Stability Mechanism).
France has for years been pushing for progress in smaller groups on topics such as industrial policy, protecting the European market and nuclear energy - areas that often face blockages at EU level. Polish Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski confirmed to Reuters that he would take part in the meeting, stressing that “the European economy must accelerate”.
German official sources said the initiative would be open to other member states that wanted to get involved in specific projects. “It is important that the pace is not set by those who want to do the least”, said Swedish European Affairs Minister Jessica Rosenkranz.
Among the topics for discussion are the deepening of the capital markets union, the strengthening of the role of the euro, better coordination of defense investments and the security of supply chains for critical raw materials.