The 2nd Strasbourg EU Parliament-France-Germany Summit is...99% Contrary to the 1st ?

*Strasbourg/France-Germany-EU Parliament Summit/Angelo Marcopolo/- The most Important Surprise from this 2nd Trilateral unofficial Summit between France, Germany and EU Parliament, bringing Together Presidents Francois Hollande and Martin Schulz with Chancellior Angie Merkeln on February 2016, for the moment, certainly is the Astonishing Fact that it is Organized almost Entirely in an Opposite way from what had been done during the Previous, 1st such Summit, back on January 2015, (See, f.ex.: http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/elyseecounselloronhollandemerkelschulzsummitandukraineurgency.html).

 

    Among many other Facts, f.ex. :

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- First of all, the Location of the Previous Summit had been chosen quite Outside of the City, at a faraway and scarcely inhabited area, closer to the European Institutions' Buildings (and to USA's Consulate...), than to Down-Town.

Added to a Heavy Nighty Rain, that was a rather Impressive ... "Spooky" Hollywood-like set up, (as some local Journalists had maliciously noted then).
The "Happy Few" informed Journalists, (already Exhausted by a Busy EU Parliament and CoE Assembly's Plenaries, which had just concluded), were obliged to Stay for Hours on their Feet, at the Crossroads of two Streets, at the Other Side of a River's Channel, in the Middle of the Rain, Hoping to get some Interesting Photos, and surrounded by a visible Heavy Police presence, (some of whom were surprisingly Brutal, by ignorance or on purpose).

- On the Contrary, Today, the famous "Diner of 3" has been scheduled at the Extreme Opposite  : Right inside the Down-Town City Centre, at a usualy Busy and well Inhabited road, normaly full of People...

And even just in Front of one of the main Restaurants notoriously used by Strasbourg Press Club for various Press Conferencies, Big Meetings of Politicians with Journalists, etc...

 

So that the Natural Omni-Presence of the Police, now looked much more Vigilent and Protective, as well as 100% Kind and even Discreet...

 

Inside, the Pleasure was real for "Eurofora" to meet, not only with many among our Local Strasbourg Collegues, (happily Grouped all Together at one and same Table), but also with certain old acquaintances, Experienced TV Journalists etc., following selectively the French Presidential Palace "Elysee" since more than a Decade, who had come from Paris, and appeared Glad to see us, immediately inviting to sit at their Table and discuss the main news, (for which they had already prepared a Full Draft !)..

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- Second, but Politicaly More Important, Innovation : For the 1st Time, the famous "Diner of 3", Together with EU Parliament's President, was Preceded, Now, by an obviously Important Franco-German Leaders' meeting only in "Duo", at the beautiful Prefectoral Palace, (this also Located Down-Town, facing the Opera and Theater of Strasbourg).

Even if this New Sequence durated Less than Initialy Expected, (about 1,5 instead of 2 Full Hours), nevertheless, it certainly gave a New Opportunity for President Hollande and Chancellor Merkel, to speak "Tete à Tete", directly between them, without the presence of anyone else, (as in the cases of Giscard d'Estaing - Helmut Schmitt, Jacques Chirac - Helmut Kohl, Nicolas Sarkozy and Angie Merkel).

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- A Third, and normaly Less Important Change, (but Symbols are always Important for Merkel, and perhaps also for Hollande and/or Schulz...), the Name of the Restaurant chosen this Time for EU Parliament President's Diner Invitation, was No More "Poetic/Historic", as it had been that of Last Year, but, Surprisingly, a quite Abrupt ... "Crow's Bridge" denomination, ("Au Pont du Corbeau" at the Original in French). Something that all Tourists visiting Strasbourg know that it reminds the Medieval ...Execution of Prisoners Condemned to Death, who were reportedly Exhibited there in Chains, a few days before Killing them inside that same River... Who knows why Schulz (the Inviting party) might have chosen now such a Horrible Medieval Symbol, (just a Day before Merkel visits Turkey on the Migrant Crisis' Blackmail)... Naturaly, this doesn't mean anything bad for the Sympathetic Family Business quartet who runs that tasty Restaurant, known and used by a lot of People...

 

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- Fourth Contradiction with the Past : Instead of Concluding almost at the Scheduled Hour, (at about 9 - 9.30, i.e. after 2,5 Hours of Working Diner), almost as it was done before, suddenly, when everything was Ready to Go, everybody who was present understood that something serious was Keeping the 3 Leaders still inside, for much More Time than initialy scheduled.

After a Long and unexpected laps of Time in Waiting, Finaly Chancellor Merkel emerged the 1st, and Rapidly entered her car, after saluting, and she's gone, (possibly on Time Pressure also because of her Visit, Tomorrow, to Turkey, for the thorny issue of that unprecedented Mass Migration "Tsunami" pushed by Turkish Smugglers at the Aegean Sea).

Hollande and Schulz rapidly hold some exchanges between them, and, when Hollande also goes, Schulz (may be dissatisfied by something, or running to Phone to someone else ?) rushes to Get Back inside the Restaurant.

Knowing that the 2 Big Issues due to be discussed during this 2016 Summit notoriously were mainly the Massive Asylum Seekers/Migrants' influx from Turkey, tresspassing EU's External Borders mainly in Greece, as well as the Brittish Referendum for its participation into the EU, while Schulz's Future Job, after he quits EU Parliament's Presidency Next Year (2017) was due to be discussed at the End of the Diner, one may suppose that it could be this last issue (naturaly related also with the Future of the Socialist Party in Germany, CDU's policy of Alliances, etc), which might have provoked that delay.


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 + 5th Difference, and Last, but not least : The most Important outcome of the Jan.. 2015 Summit was to pave the way for Peace in Ukraine, with the subsequent conclusion of the Minsk Agreements, shortly afterwards, on February 2015;
On the Contrary, Today, mutatis-mutandis, there is alread a Signed Deal with Turkey, concerning the Mass Asylum Seekers/irregular Migrants "Tsunami" fueled by Turkish Smugglers, but it has not even Started to be Applied.

Both because Ankara is dragging its feet, without any significant diminution yet of the Number of Mass Asylum Seekers/irregular Migrants arriving through Turkey, and probably also because some EU actors might Not like so much all those Unprecedented Huge Concessions made to the Turkish regime hastily, at an Obscure meeting held in Brussels an Exceptional Sunday, when all Down-Town City's Streets were Empty from their Inhabitants, with all its Public Transports Blocked, etc., because of a percieved Fear of Terrorist Attacks from ISIL, (i.e. more than 3 Billions €, relaunch of Turkey's Controversial and UnPopular EU bid, and -probably the Worse- Visa-Free entries in all EU Countries for the 75 Millions of Turks, already Starting from the Middle of this Year 2016)...

At the same time, the New Government of the Left in Greece complicates things a bit, since August 2015, by its "Non-Refoulement" ("No Push out") policy at Sea, and an unprecedented mechanism of Transports offered to the Mass Asylum Seekers/irregular Migrants arriving from Turkey, while most Inhabitanrts of Kos and other Islands currently Struggle to avoid permanent Massive "Hot-Spots" in their area, (as also the Mayor of Lesbos/Mytilini -the most exposed island- would like to do: See, f.ex., his Statements to "Eurofora" in Strasbourg, at: ....), and the recently elected New main Opposition Leader, the Young Kyriakos Mitsotakis of "New Democracy" Party, has just confirmed his Support for a strengthened European "Frontex"/CoastGuards' Force at EU's External Borders in the Aegean Sea.

But, probably, one among the most Thorny Issues to settle for EU Leaders would be also Ankara's reported Insistance to Mix-up the Turkish Military in any planned move around Greece, and therefore at EU's Borders in the Aegean Sea : A "Red-Line" for any Government in Athens, where Greeks had been Dreaming for Decades a Real European Force for the Protection of all EU's External Borders... Naturaly, the utmost Attention is advised around that Dangerous Minefield, where Turkish Military Airplanes too often Challenge the Greek AirForce, (sometimes even by making real Victims, as, f.ex., also when, in Paris, Greece was taking over OECD's Presidency, back on 2006, but also on 2010 and more Recently), and Ankara had been keeping until recently even an official "Casus Beli" Threat of War, in case Greece dared apply the International Law of the Sea, which is considered to attribute to the numerous Greek Islands the greatest part of Aegean Sea for a possible Exclusive Economic Zone focused on Oil/Gas Resources' prospection, which would be the Greatest at EU soil...

So that German Chancellor Angie Merkel's famous recent Wording (on the occasion of the Mass Migrants' Crisis, See: ...) about "Justice and Law", or "Tugboats and (mainly Turkish) Smugglers" rolling "at a Narrow Straight in the Aegean Sea", in fact, touches upon much more and bigger Stakes, linked with that Sensitive and GeoPoliticaly Strategic Area, than anyone might think at First Sight : Even the notoriously complicated issue of (EU Member since 2004) Cyprus, since the Turkish Military Invasion and Occupation of the Northern part of the island back on 1974, had, in fact, been provoked by an aggressive campaign of Turkish Revendications at the Aegean Sea around Oil/Gas Resources, expedition of Ships and Military Aviation included since Back on 1973...

Simply because the Economic and GeoPolitical Importance of what is really at Stake at EU's External Borders at the Aegean sea, is immense :

In addition to probable Findings of the most important EU Gas/Oil Resources, (particularly Needed nowadays also in order to Compensate the notoriously Lowering deposits at EU's Northern Sea), this area, (where USA is also keeping a careful eye with its Most Important Military Navy Base in the Mediterranean, at the Greek island of Creta), has, in fact, played a Key-role even in the Historic Transformation of Russia from PanEuropean into a Global World Player : Indeed, traditionaly using the Aegean Sea in order to operate a PanEuropean Ship Transport Link between the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea, through a Network of Rivers and Seas, (the "Pathway between Greeks and Scandinavians", as it was named then), already since 800-900 AC, after Russia was suddenly Blocked on 1.453 by the Turkish Military Invasion, Destruction and Ocupation of the over-Millenary former Christian Empire of Byzance, by seizing Constantinople (current Istanbul) straights, then, Moscow started a long but stuborn and finaly succesful Expansion North-Eastwards, through the immense Siberian area, up to Vladivostoc's Seaport at the Pacific Ocean, in order to Find anew an Access to Global Navigation and Free Seas, of Vital Importance also for Big Industry's Export of products and imports of raw materials and other resources.

And that's, precuisely, anOther Big Difference between the 2015 and the 2016 Franco-German Summits with EU Parliament in Strasbourg :

At First, on 2015 ,it was, then, in substance, about EU's core playing mainly PanEuropean GeoPolitics, particularly at Ukraine (Comp. Supra).

But now, in fact, it's much more about EU touching upon sensitive Global Geo-Politics, at the Same Time that the long-awaited Issue of Europe's Independent Capacity to Defend its External Borders, or not, has obviously arrived at a Boiling point...

Is that the real reason for which, comparatively, certain well-informed Diplomatic sources were, this time, Exceptionaly Tight-liped on the possible outcome of this Summit ?

By the way, this could make even a ...6th Difference between 2015 and 2016 !