The need to 'Re-unite EUrope': The results of another Brexit summit

Once again, Brexit dominated proceedings at the European Council, pushing many other crucial issues into the sidelines, but without providing more clarity about where we go from here. Instead, the profound uncertainties and mounting concerns about the manner of the UK’s departure were exacerbated, with planning for a no-deal scenario being stepped up. On other key issues, such as Eurozone reform and migration, the results were meagre and disappointing, and the battle over the EU’s multi-year budget for 2021-2027 now looks unlikely to be resolved before 2020. This analysis draws seven critical lessons from the Brexit discussions at the EU Summit, analyses the outcome of EU leaders’ deliberations in other areas, and assesses the overall ‘state of the Union’ and the fundamental challenges ahead in an increasing fragmented and polarised EU as we move towards the end of the current institutional-political cycle. It argues that the next EU leadership should follow a shared Leitmotif and strive to ‘Re-unite EUrope’.