Outlook for the informal European Council meeting of 12 February 2015: Pre-European Council Briefing

Written by Joséphine Vanden Broucke, Susanna Tenhunen, Stanislas de Finance, Ralf Drachenberg and Donata Szabo

Measures on the fight against terrorism and radicalisation are likely to be the priority item for discussion – in the presence of the EP President, Martin Schulz – at the informal European Council, meeting of Heads of State or Government, on 12 February in Brussels.

Following Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s analysis of the current state of the Economic and Monetary Union, European leaders will also discuss the state of the European economy and will once again discuss the situation in the Ukraine and Russia’s involvement.

This European Council is also the first at which Greece will be represented by its new Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras.

In this Outlook we look at:

1. Events leading up to the February Summit
2. Measures against terrorism and radicalisation
3. Situation in Ukraine
4. Deepening of EMU
5. The recently elected Greek government and the Greek ‘new deal’