© AP Photo / Mark Schreiber
Tysklands forbundskansler, Angela Merkel, har for første gang offentligt udtrykt tvivl om at EU vil overleve i sin nuværende form efter et møde mellem de otte lande, der er mest påvirket af migrationskrisen, og et møde mellem EU og Tyrkiet.
Merkel blev spurgt, hvorvidt mødet mellem de otte lande, ledet af Tyskland og støttet af EU Kommissionens Præsident, Jean-Claude Juncker, repræsenterede et skridt fremad mod et mere forenet Europa.
"I øjelblikket, tror jeg det ikke," svarede den tyske kansler, som meddelt af den tyske presse mandag, der tolkede det som en behersket ændring i forhold til det sædvanlige svar, at EU er i stand til at finde en løsning på ethvert problem.
"Dette svar er, sagt på diplomatisk tysk, udtryk for meget alvorlig tvivl. Som regel, besvares politiske og strategiske spørgsmål ikke på en måde, der kan efterlade indtryk af muligheden for et fundamentalt fejlslag," skrev Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten [DWN].
"Had Merkel been convinced that it will not come to a split, she would have said, 'I know that we are faced with difficult negotiations, but the EU has always managed to find a compromise.'"
Merkel's remark was aimed at putting pressure on the leaders of eastern European countries, which have voted against migrant quotas in Europe but who benefit from the economic advantages of the European Union, the newspaper believes.
On Sunday, the heads of state or government of the EU's 28 members met with the Turkish government to offer concessions to Ankara, with the aim of persuading Turkey to control its borders.
The EU has promised to speed up Turkey's accession to the EU, the possibility of visa-free movement for Turkish citizens in Europe, and promised Ankara 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) in order to improve life for migrants in Turkey, in the hope that they will decide to stay there, and not migrate to Europe.
Shortly before the meeting with Turkey, a group of leaders from eight European states, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Sweden, held a separate meeting in Brussels to arrange for the resettlement of migrants, after other EU members refused to agree to proposals to resettle more refugees and migrants in their countries.
New Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo expressed disquiet about the meeting of eight, having attended another summit between the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, where those countries reiterated their opposition to EU resettlement or relocation quotas.
"I cannot imagine that decisions will be taken in such a format [the summit of eight countries] and then imposed on other member states," said Szydlo.
Kommentar: Merkel, and the EU as a whole, are being crushed under the weight of NATO's chains. Check out: