European Union president Donald Tusk on Wednesday said a tide of anti-EU sentiment, which has roiled the bloc and drove Britain's shock vote to leave, has finally turned.
In an invitation letter to leaders for a summit in Brussels on Thursday, Tusk said the bloc was again becoming the solution to problems rather than the cause.
His upbeat assessment comes after a series of losses for populists and eurosceptics in national elections, including French far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
"It is fair to say that we will meet in a different political context from that of a few months ago, when the anti-EU forces were on the rise," he wrote.
"The current developments on the continent seem to indicate that we are slowly turning the corner," added the former Polish prime minister.
"In many of our countries, the political parties that have built their strength on anti-EU sentiments are beginning to diminish."
After leading the pack, Le Pen made it into the second round of the French presidential elections last month but lost heavily to Emmanuel Macron.
A committed European, Macron has made common cause with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to put a post-Brexit European Union back on track to deliver prosperity and security to its citizens after years of austerity and crisis.
British Prime Minister Theresa May, who said she would prefer a "hard" Brexit to a bad deal, meanwhile blundered into a disastrous snap June 8 poll which has allowed supporters of a "soft" Brexit back into the picture.
Tusk made no direct reference to these developments in his invitation letter but noted that after a series of blows from Brexit to the eurozone debt crisis, the EU was getting its mojo back.
"We are witnessing the return of the EU rather as a solution, not a problem," he said.
At the same time, he cautioned that the EU could not afford to be "complacent or naive" and had to show it could restore control "over events which overwhelm and sometimes even terrify."
His letter came as Europe suffers a wave of terror attacks, including an abortive bombing at a railway station in Brussels, not far from the EU's headquarters.
All 28 EU leaders discuss security, migration and globalisation Thursday before reconvening at 27, minus May, to discuss the Brexit negotiations which formally began on Monday.
European Union president Donald Tusk on Wednesday said a tide of anti-EU sentiment, which has roiled the bloc and drove Britain’s shock vote to leave, has finally turned.
In an invitation letter to leaders for a summit in Brussels on Thursday, Tusk said the bloc was again becoming the solution to problems rather than the cause.
His upbeat assessment comes after a series of losses for populists and eurosceptics in national elections, including French far-right leader Marine Le Pen.
“It is fair to say that we will meet in a different political context from that of a few months ago, when the anti-EU forces were on the rise,” he wrote.
“The current developments on the continent seem to indicate that we are slowly turning the corner,” added the former Polish prime minister.
“In many of our countries, the political parties that have built their strength on anti-EU sentiments are beginning to diminish.”
After leading the pack, Le Pen made it into the second round of the French presidential elections last month but lost heavily to Emmanuel Macron.
A committed European, Macron has made common cause with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to put a post-Brexit European Union back on track to deliver prosperity and security to its citizens after years of austerity and crisis.
British Prime Minister Theresa May, who said she would prefer a “hard” Brexit to a bad deal, meanwhile blundered into a disastrous snap June 8 poll which has allowed supporters of a “soft” Brexit back into the picture.
Tusk made no direct reference to these developments in his invitation letter but noted that after a series of blows from Brexit to the eurozone debt crisis, the EU was getting its mojo back.
“We are witnessing the return of the EU rather as a solution, not a problem,” he said.
At the same time, he cautioned that the EU could not afford to be “complacent or naive” and had to show it could restore control “over events which overwhelm and sometimes even terrify.”
His letter came as Europe suffers a wave of terror attacks, including an abortive bombing at a railway station in Brussels, not far from the EU’s headquarters.
All 28 EU leaders discuss security, migration and globalisation Thursday before reconvening at 27, minus May, to discuss the Brexit negotiations which formally began on Monday.
