Migration and Iran head EU summit agenda
Federica Mogherini - Photo EU Council
(BRUSSELS) - On the agenda of EU leaders meeting at a summit on Thursday will be migration, the digital single market, defence and security, relations with Iran, Turkey and North Korea, and the state of the Brexit talks.
With the crisis on North Korea and disagreement with US president Trump over Iran looming large, the European Union is determined to preserve the unity that it has worked to achieve since Trump-Brexit.
"We need this unity in order to solve the migration crisis, to tackle unfair aspects of globalisation, to deal with aggressive third countries, to limit the damage caused by Brexit as well as to preserve the rules-based international order in these difficult times," said EU Council president Donald Tusk in his invitation letter ahead of the meeting.
On migration, the European Council is expected to take stock of measures taken to control illegal migration flows, and to look at additional measures needed to support frontline Member States. It will also call for progress on the reform of the common European asylum system.
Digital Europe has sprung high on the priority list, and EU leaders are will examine how the EU can 'seize the opportunities and address the challenges of digitalisation' and how to properly implement Europe's digital single market.
Leaders will resume discussion on a permanent structured cooperation on defence.
Specific foreign policy issues will be discussed in the light of recent events, with leaders discussing the latest developments regarding the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in relation to the Korean peninsula and Iran.
On Brexit, British prime minister Theresa May will get a chance to share her reflections about the current state of the Brexit talks.
On Friday, the Article 50 Council will also, in an EU 27 format, review the latest developments in the talks. The 27 are expected to decided that there has been insufficient progress in the talks to allow trade negotiations to begin.