The EU, semester of the Austrian presidency – Europe begins

With the priority of security and the fight against illegal immigration, the Austrian semester for the rotating presidency of the EU Council begins today: "A Europe that protects" is the chosen by Vienna for its semester, which follows the one just ended in Bulgaria. Austria will have to find an application to the migration guidelines that have emerged from the European summit in recent days, to handle tough negotiations on the reform of the Dublin Regulation on asylum, but also the strengthening of borders European and Frontex agencies, to ensure effective protection of the Union's external borders and the strengthening of returns. The themes are closely linked to the discussions on the next multiannual EU budget for the period 2021-2027. Beside this, equally difficult discussions on the reform of the euro area and the increasingly wrapped issue of Brexit, as the expiry of Britain's exit approaches. The informal summit of Heads of State and Government, to be held in Salzburg on 20 September 2018, will be a first opportunity to learn from the debate, with the exception of summer emergencies. especially thanks to digitization. Finally, neighborhood policies and enlargement in the Balkans