Juncker´s State of the Union Address and Tusk´s letter

Before today´s informal European Council meeting in Bratislava, both Commission President Juncker and Council President Tusk have delivered interesting "inputs".

Juncker held his State of the Union Address 2016 on Thursday. He started by saying that "Our European Union is, at least in part, in an existential crisis"

... never before have I seen such little common ground between our Member States. So few areas where they agree to work together.

Never before have I heard so many leaders speak only of their domestic problems, with Europe mentioned only in passing, if at all.

Never before have I seen representatives of the EU institutions setting very different priorities, sometimes in direct opposition to national governments and national Parliaments. It is as if there is almost no intersection between the EU and its national capitals anymore.

Never before have I seen national governments so weakened by the forces of populism and paralysed by the risk of defeat in the next elections.

Never before have I seen so much fragmentation, and so little commonality in our Union.

To fix the crisis he pointed to five policy areas for concrete European actions

a Europe that protects;
a Europe that preserves the European way of life;
a Europe that empowers our citizens,
a Europe that defends at home and abroad; and
a Europe that takes responsibility

Then he gave a review of all the positive things the Commission did and should do in these areas, and emphasized how important it was that Member states followed up. In other words: he recommended to use the old receipt of more integration. But he also said 

only by focusing on where Europe can provide real added value and deliver results, we will be able to make Europe a better, more trusted place

While Juncker´s speach represents a traditional EU approach for problem solving, a letter from Tusk to the European Council before the Bratislava summit seems to indicate a real and necessary change in mindset. He writes

While waiting for the UK government to trigger negotiations, we should diagnose the state and the prospects of a post-Brexit EU. It would be a fatal error to assume that the negative result in the UK referendum represents a specifically British issue; that British Euroscepticism is a symptom of political aberration or merely a cynical game of populists exploiting social frustrations. It is true that the Leave campaign was full of false arguments and unacceptable generalisations. But it is also true that the Brexit vote is a desperate attempt to answer the questions that millions of Europeans ask themselves daily, questions about the very essence of politics. Questions about the guarantees of security of the citizens and their territory, questions about the protection of their interests, cultural heritage and way of life. These are questions we would have to face even if the UK had voted to remain. 

People in Europe want to know if the political elites are capable of restoring control over events and processes which overwhelm, disorientate, and sometimes terrify them. Today many people, not only in the UK, think that being part of the European Union stands in the way of stability and security...

My talks with you clearly show that giving new powers to European institutions is not the desired recipe. National electorates want more influence on the decisions of the Union.

Tusk is balancing these views by pointing out the member states' responsibility

 Adopting this direction would nonetheless require a change of attitude of national governments towards the European Union as such.

Today the EU is often treated as a necessary evil, not a common good. The slogan "less power for Brussels", which sounds attractive in political campaigns, should translate as more responsibility for the Union in national capitals. This responsibility for the Union is nothing other than a readiness to sacrifice part of one's own interests for the sake of the community. It also means refraining from the constant accusations aimed at the Union, which sometimes are justified, but more often than not they serve as an easy excuse for one's own failures. This was also one of the reasons behind the Brexit vote.

It is intended that today's meeting will be followed up by a  "Bratislava-process". But so far it seems a bit unclear whether the image above shows sunrise or sunset for the EU.