EU summit opens with hot topics

On the evening of October 24, the European Union (EU) Autumn Summit officially opened in Brussels, Belgium. The agenda of the conference, expected to focus on economic issues, has been dominated by the migration issue and especially the US intelligence scandal of wiretapping the phones of European citizens and leaders.

According to the original plan, at the two-day conference on October 24-25, leaders of the 28 EU member states will focus on discussing high-tech economic issues, growth and employment, as well as the bloc's economic and monetary union.

The signing ceremony of the CETA agreement between Canada and the European Union ahead of the EU Autumn Summit. (Photo: AFP-TTXVN).

However, information that US intelligence had tapped German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone has made the atmosphere tense right before the opening of the conference.

Speaking before the opening session, leaders of many European countries such as the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Austria and Germany said that the US's monitoring of personal communications of European citizens was unacceptable.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is also believed to be a victim of phone tapping as part of a US spying program, said the practice was unacceptable, especially given the alliance between the two countries.

Just before the conference opened, Merkel held a bilateral meeting with French President Francois Hollande to discuss how to coordinate countermeasures against the US based on the support of EU partners.

Meanwhile, Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo said that Europe cannot accept the current systematic spying situation, and called on each member state as well as Europe as a whole to take appropriate countermeasures.

European Commission (EC) President José Manuel Barroso also announced at a press conference before the conference that the conference's agenda will include the task of accelerating the adoption of a new law on the protection of personal data of EU citizens.

The new law would prevent US companies from collecting this type of information, Barroso said, adding that France had voiced support for the proposal and that the law could be passed by the end of this year or early 2014.

However, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy – who is chairing this EU Summit, expressed hope that after a brief discussion on the “spy scandal”, EU leaders will return to the economic agenda.

In addition, the issue of migration is expected to be a hot topic at this conference after two consecutive shipwrecks off the coast of Italy caused the drowning of more than 400 migrants. According to statistics, about 17,000-20,000 people have died while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to migrate to Europe.

Meanwhile, the EU Border Agency said that in the past two years, around 16,000 migrants have been rescued in the Mediterranean Sea. Meanwhile, its budget has been cut from 118 million euros ($162 million) in 2011 to 85 million euros this year.

On the second working day (October 25), EU leaders will discuss improving the effectiveness of immigration policies, increasing the budget for the EU Border Security Agency and the agenda of the “Eastern Partnership” Summit taking place at the end of next month./.

According to (Vietnam+)