When Angela Merkel attended her first EU summit in December 2005, her fellow leaders included Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac. Now as she prepares to step down as Germany’s chancellor, the EU is preparing for life after Angela Merkel. When she starts to speak at the European Council, leaders “put their iPhones away”, said the Dutch PM, Mark Rutte. She was accused of imposing painful austerity on bailed-out countries during the eurozone crisis, while a German-inspired plan for mandatory refugee quotas in 2015 sparked fury in central Europe. If German coalition talks drag on for weeks after September’s elections, there is still a chance Merkel will be back for one more summit in October.

Source: The Guardian June 24, 2021 14:48 UTC