EU leaders attempted to draw a line under an excruciatingly tough year at Thursday’s summit by extending economic sanctions on Russia, clearing the path for a trade deal with Ukraine and agreeing to move towards greater military cooperation.
Such incremental advances were overshadowed, however, by their powerlessness to halt the Syrian bloodshed, inability to agree on common rules for asylum-seekers and squabbling over the European Parliament’s role in Brexit negotiations. Even the eurozone crisis made a brief comeback in a row over Athens’ plans to give struggling Greek pensioners a Christmas bonus.
The agenda ran over by more than three hours, defeating …read more
Source: European Voice
