Grim challenges for EU after rollercoaster year By Laurence Peter

BBC News, Brussels Published duration 16 December 2016 Related Topics Brexit

media caption What does the new European Council HQ look like?

Beset by crises, EU leaders could be forgiven for dreaming that the Brussels "Space Egg" - their summit venue next year - will transport them to a brave new world.

The eye-catching new Europa building cost more than €321m (£270m; $336m). It has eco-friendly features - lots of solar panels and oak collected from demolition sites.

And the dazzlingly colourful decor inside speaks of optimism - something sorely needed in Europe, where the threats of economic stagnation and aggressive nationalism loom large.

The summit agenda on Thursday was packed with the toughest of challenges: How to give the EU a uniform, efficient asylum system that really works? How to influence the mayhem in Syria and establish peace there? How to be a good partner to Ukraine without antagonising Russia further?

Preparing for battle

With all that on their plates it is not surprising that the leaders devoted less than an hour to Brexit - late at night and without the UK.

image copyright EPA image caption The agony of Aleppo overshadowed the summit

image copyright Reuters image caption A key challenge facing the EU is how to be a good partner to Ukraine without antagonising Russia

They reminded the UK that the ball is in its court: The UK has to spell out what sort of Brexit it wants and trigger the exit procedure, Article 50.

Meanwhile, they marshalled their troops for the big Brexit battle, deciding on their approach to the negotiations.

Earlier Emily Purser of Sky News tweeted a video clip that showed UK Prime Minister Theresa May looking isolated among the leaders with the caption "Oh CRINGE Theresa May has got no mates".

It seemed to epitomise the new tensions around Brexit. Other pictures did, however, show her being chummy with some of her European counterparts.

A different image springs to mind in relation to Brexit: The elephant in the room. It looks likely to tie up the EU in complicated legal wrangling - at a time when the global challenges could not be more stark.

Unwelcome gift

Greece reminded the leaders that its chronic debt problems have not gone away, and remain a worry for the eurozone. Not long ago the risk of "contagion" from Greece appeared to be the mother of all worries for the EU.

image copyright Reuters image caption British Prime Minister Theresa May (right) was not always without someone to talk to at the EU summit

image copyright EPA image caption Outgoing European Parliament President Martin Schulz has said solutions rather than emotions are needed to deal with June's Brexit vote

On Thursday Greece's creditors chided Athens for granting hard-up Greek pensioners a bonus that was not part of the bailout deal.

Lunch was a reminder of happier times - Spain and Portugal provided the cuisine, to mark 30 years since they joined the EU.

In 1986 it was called the European Economic Community, and for those two countries it meant hope and opportunity after decades of fascism.

Today it is political turmoil in the Middle East that keeps knocking on Europe's door.

Both European Council President Donald Tusk and German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed frustration at the EU's inability to stop the atrocities in Syria.

With the agony of Aleppo overshadowing the summit, Mrs Merkel told reporters that "it was a very emotional discussion" on Syria.

Brexit emotions

But Brexit is also painful for the EU - despite the tough warnings that the UK will not get a better deal than EU membership.

image copyright AP image caption Greece's presence serves as a reminder to EU leaders that its chronic debt problems have not gone away

Again there was the insistence that the "four freedoms" are indivisible - free movement of labour, services, capital and goods.

"No cherry-picking" has become a sort of EU mantra for Brexit.

But Mrs Merkel said the UK leaving "is a deep gash in the EU".

And fellow German Martin Schulz, the outgoing European Parliament president, was nearly in tears when he told reporters how he felt about the Brexit vote in June.

"I was emotional, when I saw young people crying, students, when they saw the [Brexit] result. I was emotional... but emotions won't lead to the solutions we need, let's try to be rational."

So if you thought 2016 was bad... there is still the colourful Europa building in January.

It is a reminder of the political momentum behind the EU's institutions, the vested interests in the European project - whatever the populist politicians say.

And true to form, the summit talks went on long past dinner time. Just like the good old days.

The Europa building was created by Samyn and Partners architects and engineers (lead and design partner), with Studio Valle Progettazioni architects and Buro Happold engineers.