A summit of little substance

The European Council meeting on 24-25 October 2013 was a rather low-key affair, with the scheduled policy debates on substantive issues overshadowed by the National Security Agency scandal and allegations that the US intelligence authorities had tapped the mobile phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel (and possibly other heads of state or government). EU leaders did not take any ground-breaking decisions on the four key topics on the agenda: the digital economy, innovation and services; youth unemployment, financing the economy and cutting red tape; deepening the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); and migration. They reiterated past positions and objectives, called on Member States to fulfil their obligations, and postponed decisions on key issues. But there are some general conclusions one can draw from this Summit regarding the future of the EMU, the relationship between Paris and Germany and the predominant challenge in the months to come.