Updated:
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) was passed with standing applause at what will probably be her last EU summit.
After a speech of thanks by Council President Charles Michel, the other heads of state and government rose on Friday and applauded the longest-serving head of government, according to an EU diplomat. In his address, Michel emphasized that a summit without Merkel would be like “Rome without the Vatican or Paris without the Eiffel Tower”.
As a farewell present, Merkel received an “artistic representation” of the Brussels conference building in the Europaviertel. In her almost 16 years in office, Merkel took part in 107 summits, as Michel said according to the information. In his emotional address, the Belgian said that the EU would still miss Merkel’s “wisdom”, “sobriety” and mediation skills, “especially in difficult times”.
praise / dja
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