EU summit in Brussels
The EU summit in Brussels that took place last weekend saw France and Germany moving closer together. French President Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel stood side by side at an end-of-summit news conference sending a message of unity. With that the distrust between Paris and Berlin that prevented close cooperation in past years might come to an end leaving the two countries leading post-Brexit Europe.
First however, Macron has to deliver on his plans to reform the French economy and Merkel has to win a fourth term in September and convince conservative allies to work with the centrist Macron, who brings new visions for Europe with him. He pressed the other leaders to embrace a more ambitious approach to European defence cooperation. Furthermore, he said he will not shy away from confronting countries like Poland or Hungary or China and the US if they do not respect European values or do not play fair on trade.
Angela Merkel backed up all the ideas Macron brought forward during the summit in Brussels. But officials from Britain and the US expressed their concern regarding the new duo. Britain fears a more confident Europe could be a tougher counterpart in the Brexit negotiations. The US on the other hand showed concern that a bolder Europe might end up defining itself in opposition to Washington.
Another important issue during the summit was the fate of the around three million EU citizens living in Britain after Brexit is through. May promised that no one would be forced to leave and offered permanent rights over healthcare, education, welfare and pensions. But she did not say when the cut-off date would be and left the leaders not really satisfied with her plan in general as many of them deemed it too vague. It is a first step but a lot of work is still to come.
summit (ˈsʌmɪt) – der Gipfel
unity (ˈju:nəti) – die Einheit
distrust (dɪˈstrʌst) – das Misstrauen
to prevent (prɪˈvent) – etw verhindern, etw vorbeugen
to deliver (dɪˈlɪvəʳ) – etw liefern, einlösen
economy (ɪˈkɒnəmi) – die Wirtschaft
to convince (kənˈvɪn(t)s) – jdn überzeugen
to press so (pres) – jdn drängen,
to embrace (ɪmˈbreɪs) – umarmen, hier: eine Idee aufgreifen, etw annehmen
ambitious (æmˈbɪʃəs) – ehrgeizig
approach (əˈprəʊtʃ) – der Ansatz, das Vorgehen
to shy away (ʃaɪ əˈweɪ) – etw scheuen, vor etw zurückschrecken
value (ˈvælju: ) – der Wert, die Bedeutung
trade (treɪd) – der Handel
to back up (bæk ʌp) – hier: jdn unterstützen, jdn bekräftigen
to express (ɪkˈspres) – etw ausdrücken, etw aussprechen
concern (kənˈsɜ:n) – die Sorge
regarding (rɪˈgɑ:dɪŋ) – bezüglich, im Hinblick auf etw
confident (ˈkɒnfɪdənt) – zuversichtlich, selbstsicher
tough (tʌf) – robust, streng
counterpart (ˈkaʊntəʳpɑ:t) – das Gegenstück, der Gegenüber
negotiation (nɪˌgəʊʃiˈeɪʃən) – die Verhandlung, die Aushandlung
bold (bəʊld) – mutig, forsch
opposition (ˈɒpəˈzɪʃən) – der Widerstand, der Gegensatz
issue (ˈɪʃu: ) – das Thema, die (Streit)Frage
fate (feɪt) – das Schicksal, das Geschick
citizen (ˈsɪtɪzən) – der/die Bürger/in
to force (fɔ:s) – jdn zwingen
healthcare (helθ keəʳ) – das Gesundheitswesen, die Gesundheitspflege
education (ˌeʤʊˈkeɪʃən) – die Bildung
welfare (ˈwelfeəʳ) – das Wohlergehen, die Sozialhilfe
pension (ˈpen(t)ʃən) – die Rente
cut-off date (kʌt-ɒf deɪt) – der Stichtag, der Abgrenzungstermin
satisfied (ˈsætɪsfaɪd) – zufrieden
to deem (di:m) – etw erachten, annehmen,
vague (veɪg) – ungenau, vage, verschwommen[/vc_column_text][/vc_column]