Protest quelled in Belarus
Under cloud of British exit, 27 nations vow to hold together
A woman is pushed to the ground Saturday by police in Minsk as Belarus cracks down on demonstrators protesting the former Soviet republic’s authoritarian government. About 700 people tried to join the march. More than 400 were arrested, and many were beaten, according to a human-rights group.
ROME — With Britain poised to start divorce proceedings, the 27 remaining European Union nations put pen to paper Saturday in Rome to renew their vows for continued unity in the face of crises.
The EU nations marked the 60th anniversary of their founding treaty as a turning point in their history, as British Prime Minister Theresa May will officially trigger separation proceedings from the bloc this week — a fact that European Commission President JeanClaude Juncker called “a tragedy.”
Determined to show that unity is the only way ahead in a globalized world, the EU leaders were able to walk away from a summit without acrimony, which already was sort of a victory.
“We didn’t have a major clash or conflict, contrary to what many thought,” Juncker said.
EU Council President Donald Tusk said sustained unity was the only way for the EU to survive.
“Europe as a political entity will either be united, or will not be at all,” he told EU leaders at a solemn session in the same ornate hall on the ancient Capitoline Hill where the Treaty of Rome, which founded the EU, was signed on March 25, 1957.
To move ahead, the EU leaders recognized that full unity on all things will be unworkable. Pushed by several western European nations, they enshrined a pledge to give member nations more freedom to form partial alliances and set policy when unanimity is out of reach.
“We will act together, at different paces and intensity where necessary, while moving in the same direction,” said the Rome Declaration signed by the 27 nations.
The EU often has used a multispeed approach in the past, with only 19 nations using the shared euro currency and not all members participating in the Schengen borderless travel zone. The approach has been extended to social legislation and even divorce rules among EU citizens.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to assuage fears
that it would lead to a further unraveling of unity.
“The Europe of different speeds does not in any way mean that it is not a common Europe,” Merkel said after the ceremony. “We are saying here very clearly that we want to go in a common direction. And there are things that are not negotiable” — the EU freedom of movement, goods, people and services.
Merkel also agreed with EU leaders that defense was a priority, over concerns fueled by U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of EU military spending.
“We want a more powerful Europe, which means that we will have to cooperate more closely in our defense,” she said.
With Britain leaving the bloc, the mantle of recalcitrant member seems to have been taken over by Poland. Still, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo was more subdued than at the last EU summit two weeks ago, when she refused to adopt conclusions that need unanimity. Poland also balked at signing the new treaty until the eve of the ceremony.
“The Rome Declaration is the first stop toward renewing the unity of the EU,” Szydlo told reporters.
In Poland on Saturday, thousands of people marched through Warsaw and other cities, waving EU flags in a show of support for the bloc.
The rallies also marked a strong expression of disapproval for the country’s government in Warsaw that is dubious of EU membership.
“Poland’s place is in the EU,” demonstrators chanted.
In a series of speeches at the summit, EU leaders also acknowledged how the bloc had strayed into a complicated structure that had slowly lost touch with its citizens, compounded by the severe financial crisis that struck several EU nations over the past decade.
Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, whose country was one of the six founding members of the bloc and hosted the summit, recalled that Europe had been “reduced to rubble” after World War II.
“It was a journey of conquest, a journey of hopes that have been fulfilled and of hopes that have yet to be fulfilled,” Gentiloni said. But in recent years, “Europe has been too slow to act on immigration, growth and jobs,” he said. To restart the EU, “we must first of all win back the trust of citizens.”
But conclusions made at the summit also conveyed optimism.
“Yes, we have problems. Yes, there are difficulties. Yes, there will be crisis in the future. But we stand together and we move forward,” Gentiloni said. “We have the strength to start out again.”
More than 5,000 police, including anti-terrorism units and snipers, were deployed to Rome’s streets to enforce a ban on trucks and guard the routes of six demonstrations both in favor of and against the bloc. Authorities feared the gatherings could turn violent with possible infiltration by anarchists and other groups.
At the end of the summit, all 27 leaders signed the Rome Declaration saying that “European unity is a bold, farsighted endeavor.”
“We have united for the better. Europe is our common future,” the declaration said.