Remarks by President Charles Michel before the Special European Council

First of all, I would like to express my condolences after this tragic attack in Germany this morning.

We will start our summit about the next European budget. The last weeks we have worked very hard with all the leaders and I am grateful to the leaders for the hard work we have done together.

There are many interests, many concerns, and they are all legitimate. But I am convinced it is possible to make progress in the next hours or in the next days. I am convinced that everything is on the table in order to decide.

First of all, I would like to offer my condolences in the wake of the horrific attack in Germany, and to express our support for the victims, their loved ones and all the German people.

In a few hours we will begin the summit. A considerable amount of work has been done over the past several weeks to try to reconcile the different points of view. There are many different concerns, priorities and interests, and we must aim to bridge the differences in order to come to a decision together.

I would of course like to thank the Heads of State and Government with whom we have worked so hard in recent weeks to reconcile the different views. I am well aware that the final steps in reaching a compromise are always the most difficult, but I believe we have all the elements we need to be able to make a decision. (pronounced in French)