At the end of the European Union (EU) summit, the leaders of the bloc member states on Friday boldly said goodbye to Angela Merkel, who is probably the last summit in her capacity as chancellor.
For Merkel, this was the 107th EU summit as Chancellor, which she has held for 16 years.
Before getting to work, EU leaders watched a two-minute video with Merkel’s highlights at the summits and presented her with a farewell gift representing the building where the summits take place.
European Council President Charles Michel compared Merkel to a monument, saying that summits without her would be like Paris without the Eiffel Tower or like Rome without the Vatican.
“You are the compass and the bright light of our European project,” Michel concluded by shouting loudly.
If German parties fail to form a new coalition by mid-December, Merkel will return to Brussels for another summit. However, a number of EU leaders have already taken the opportunity today to say how much they will lack the Chancellor, and in particular her ability to find compromises in behind-the-scenes talks.
“Mrs Merkel was a kind of compromise machine,” Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bethel told reporters.
Merkel became unpopular in the Mediterranean with austerity policies supported by the eurozone crisis, and many disagreed with her open border policy in 2015.
However, Lithuanian President Gitan Nauseda recalled that it was thanks to Merkel that last year the EU member states managed to overcome their differences and agree on a joint plan to reduce the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Over the years, the 67-year-old Merkel has attended summits with four French presidents, five British prime ministers and eight Italian prime ministers, addressing the 2007 and 2008 financial crises, the migration crises of 2015 and 2016, and the economic challenges posed by the Brix and pandemics.
Merkel is a man who “has really left its mark on Europe in 16 years” and has helped EU leaders with great humanity to make the right decisions in difficult times, said Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croe.
Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, who is a newcomer to EU summits, said Merkel’s departure would leave a lot of room.
“It could be said that she was a haven of peace in the European Union. She has undoubtedly been a great European,” Schallenberg said.
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