Photo taken on March 1, 2017 shows a plenary session at which European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker addresses the "White Paper on the Future of Europe" at the European Parliament, in Brussels, Belgium. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)
BRUSSELS, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The heads of state or government of European Union (EU) countries are to meet for a two-day summit on Thursday and Friday in a bid to find a common position for the most pressing issues and for the future of the European project.
The EU faces increasing political uncertainties, as Britain is preparing to trigger Article 50 later this month, which will begin the process of Brexit talks, and populist parties are gaining ground in election campaigns ahead of elections in the Netherlands this month, followed by France in April and May, and then Germany.
It will be the last EU summit before crucial parliamentary elections in the Netherlands where far-right politician Geert Wilders' eurosceptic Party for Freedom (PVV) is expected to do well.
Wilders' party, which advocates Dutch withdrawal from the EU, has been consistently high in opinion polls for months.
FUTURE OF EU
The summit comes just ahead of the symbolically-important 60th anniversary of the Rome Treaty, when the EU is to present its plans for reforming the bloc.
The debate on which path the EU should follow after Brexit will come under the spotlight when EU heads of state and government gather on Thursday and Friday.
The summit will give leaders a first chance to debate the European Commission's Future of Europe White Paper, unveiled last week by its president Jean-Claude Juncker.
The five possible paths for the EU without Britain outlined by the European Commission range from shrinking the scope of areas of cooperation among member states or maintaining the status quo to a more ambitious scenario of taking steps towards a federalist EU.
The White Paper has met with mixed reflections, as some political leaders criticized it for not picking a clear preferred path or providing concrete examples.
"We are disappointed with the European Commission White Paper. We consider it a mistake to simply present five possible scenarios for the future of the European Union, instead of singling out a strong and comprehensive choice to fortify ourselves against the current storm we are facing," Gianni Pittella, leader of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament said.
Responding to the big questions on the future of Europe, the heads of continental Europe's biggest economies -- Germany, France, Italy and Spain -- have endorsed the vision of a multi-speed Europe ahead of the summit.
The leaders of the big four governments in the EU27 gathered at the Palace of Versailles on Monday, and agreed that some EU countries could deepen integration faster than others.
"We should have the courage to allow some countries to move ahead, to advance more quickly than others. Cooperation can be kept open to those that have fallen behind," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
The multi-speed Europe concept has been debated for years in European political circles, but some governments, especially in the bloc's eastern part, fear this could deepen divisions to their disadvantage.
TUSK'S JOB ROW
The election of the European Council President for the next term is expected to be one of the key decisions taken at this week's EU summit in Brussels.
The incumbent is former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk whose 30-month term is due to end on May 31.
Most EU leaders reportedly support Tusk's re-election but Tusk's home country Poland, with support from Hungary, has proposed Polish European Parliamentarian Jacek Saryusz-Wolski for the position instead.
Ahead of the meeting, a bitter war of words has broken out on the appointment of the council president for the period from June 1, 2017 to Nov. 30, 2019.
Poland's ruling Law and Justice party last week barred the Polish government from backing Tusk's candidacy, after the party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski called Tusk a "German candidate".
Meanwhile, Saryusz-Wolski, who is also from Tusk's Civic Platform party of the European People's Party (EPP), took the unusual step of accepting the nomination of Poland's ruling party to run against Tusk.
But his acceptance of the nomination has caused bitterness in the EPP group. Manfred Weber, leader of the EPP, said: "Tusk is the only EPP candidate for President of European Council. He enjoys unanimous support from the entire party."
Malta, which currently holds the council's rotating six-month presidency, will oversee the process of choosing the council chair.
PRESSING ISSUES
For others, though, the priority this week for EU leaders should be focusing on tackling the EU's much-vaunted ills.
EU priority measures for growth, the single market strategy, including digital markets, and external and internal security are among the topics to be debated by EU leaders at the two-day summit.
Other key topics for discussion will be migration, security and defense, with EU defense ministers this week taking another step towards the creation of what some have dubbed an EU army.
Leaders are also expected to give the green light to the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor's Office, another move condemned by eurosceptics like Wilders.
