European Council
The President
Brussels, 29 September 2020
Dear colleagues,
Our special meeting on Thursday and Friday will primarily focus on Europe's place in the
world and our capacity to shape our own destiny.
Our meeting will start on Thursday at 15.00 with the traditional exchange of views with
the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli. We will then use our first
working session for a debate on EU-China relations, following the EU-China leaders'
meeting via video conference on 14 September. We want to work with China on tackling
major global challenges such as the COVID 19 pandemic and climate change. We also
want to insist on a more balanced and reciprocal economic relationship, ensuring a level
playing field. And we will continue to promote our values and standards.
At the end of the session, we will discuss current issues requiring our attention, namely
the situation in Belarus, the poisoning of Alexei Navalny and the Nagorno-Karabakh
escalation.
The dinner will be entirely devoted to the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and our
relations with Turkey. Our objective is to create a space for a constructive dialogue with
Turkey to achieve stability and security in the whole region, and to ensure full respect for
the sovereignty and sovereign rights of all EU Member States. This will only be possible if
Turkey engages constructively. All options remain on the table to defend the legitimate
interests of the EU and its Member States.
The EU can only be strong on the international stage if it has a resilient and innovative
economic base.
COVID-19 has undoubtedly revealed some of the EU's weaknesses. But I believe we
should turn this into an opportunity, critically assessing together how to make the EU
more resilient. Crucially, I would like us to discuss how we can best enhance the EU's
strategic autonomy alongside an open and competitive social market economy.
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175 - B-1048 Bruxelles/Brussel - Belgique/België
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/european-council/
1/2