President Juncker participates in #EuropeanCouncil 22-23 March 2018

On 22 and 23 March, EU leaders gathered in Brussels for the March European Council, with a full agenda. Yesterday (22 March), discussions focused on digital taxation and the Commission's proposals in this area, and leaders agreed to come back to the matter in June.

They also called for increased efforts to deliver on the Single Market strategy, the Digital Single Market, the Capital Markets Union Action Plan and the Energy Union, before the end of the current legislative cycle. On social issues, leaders confirmed their support for delivering on the European Pillar of Social Rights and invited the Council to examine the Commission's proposals under the Social Fairness Package, including the proposal for a European Labour Authority, which President Juncker welcomed in the press conference yesterday evening.

Other items on the agenda included the Paris Agreement, where the Commission will present a proposal for a Strategy for long-term EU greenhouse gas emissions reduction in 2019. In the working dinner yesterday evening, leaders discussed Turkey, strongly condemning Turkey's continued illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea, and underlining their full solidarity with Cyprus and Greece. On Russia, leaders condemned in the strongest possible terms the recent attack in Salisbury, and expressed their unqualified solidarity with the United Kingdom.

Trade was on the agenda this morning, following announcements by the US administration yesterday evening, and EU leaders confirmed their commitment to an open and rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core, regretting the decision by the United States to impose import tariffs on steel and aluminium, and underlining their support for a dialogue on trade issues of common concern with the United States. The 27 EU leaders then met to discuss Article 50 negotiations with the UK, and welcomed the agreement reached by the negotiators on parts of the legal text of the Withdrawal Agreement, and adopted guidelines on with a view to the opening of negotiations on the overall understanding of the framework for the future relationship. Following this, leaders of the euro area countries met.

At the concluding press conference this afternoon (23 March), President Juncker said: "The US has recognized that the EU is a single entity when it comes to trade. But the exemption from the tariffs until 1 May is not very realistic. We are asking for a permanent exemption.”

On Brexit, President Juncker underlined the united front of EU leaders in adopting the guidelines presented to the Council. Watch the full press conference here.

In the margins of the Summit, President Juncker also met with Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa to launch a pilot reform project to improve the Portuguese national vocational education and training system, including adult education, contributing to address the skills challenges of a significant share of the Portuguese labour force and enhancing the competitiveness of the Portuguese economy. A statement is available here.

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