Brussels, 6 November
I would like to invite you to our informal meeting of Heads of State and Government that will take place in Budapest on the evening of Thursday 7 November and on Friday 8 November.
At our dinner on Thursday, I propose that we hold a strategic debate on our transatlantic relations. Our relationship with the US is essential and we are ready to deepen it. We have to continue delivering on our priorities in line with the Strategic Agenda, working actively towards a strong and sovereign Europe. I would like us in particular to focus on three areas:
(i) our bilateral relations,
(ii) security and geopolitics, not least Ukraine and
(iii) global challenges and international cooperation, including climate change.
We will also address the situation in Georgia following the elections and discuss the way forward. With our steadfast support to the United Nations in our minds, we will also have an exchange on the recently adopted Israeli legislation against UNRWA which, if implemented, would make it impossible for UNRWA to carry out its mandate. We will discuss what the consequences on our relationship with Israel could be.
Our meeting on Friday will be dedicated to strengthening our competitiveness. The situation is very worrying. Over the past 20 years, the EU’s share of world GDP has halved. We need to act now. We are at the eleventh hour. The Draghi and Letta reports are a wake-up call that we must be ready to take. The Union’s competitive survival is at stake.
Our discussions, in the presence of Professor Draghi and President Lagarde, will cover concrete strategies to reverse our current trajectory and will allow our companies to prosper – strategies that promote innovation, harness the strengths of our single market and support sustainable growth.
I would like us to have a genuine political exchange on how to finance our ambitions and what instruments we have at our disposal.
I am confident that by leveraging our collective strength we can make significant progress that will lay the groundwork for the months ahead.
On the eve of my last European Council, I would also like to thank you for the trust you have placed in me. I am convinced that our strength lies in our unity. This requires trust and respect among the 27.
I am confident that together we can achieve great things.
I look forward to seeing you in Budapest.
Invitation letter
Source – European Council