EUROPEAN COUNCIL
THE PRESIDENT
Brussels, 28 February 2012
&addressee
Dear colleagues,
It is my pleasure to invite you to the meeting of the European Council on 1 and 2 March 2012 in
Brussels.
After the traditional meeting with the President of the European Parliament and the family photo,
Helle Thorning-Schmidt will chair at 18h45 a short meeting on the election of the President of the
European Council for the period from 1 June 2012 to 30 November 2014. Jean-Claude Juncker will
then propose to designate the President of the Euro Summit.
We will begin our working dinner at 19h30, starting with economic issues. This European Council
will conclude the first phase of the "European semester", by providing guidance for Member States'
economic and budgetary policies. We have in the past agreed a strategy - Europe 2020 - and we
have agreed on targets; the real challenge lies at the level of implementation, as outlined in
President Barroso's letter on growth. This meeting of the European Council must serve to identify
the priorities Member States should focus on at the national level. To stimulate our discussion, I
will send you a paper aimed at illustrating some of the key challenges facing us. Jean-Claude
Juncker will then debrief on latest developments in the euro area. Afterwards, we will revert to
Serbia as a follow-up to our December 2011 conclusions. Finally, still over dinner, we will revert to
the issue of the enlargement of the Schengen area.
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