European Council
The President
Brussels, 7 March 2017
Dear colleagues,
We will start the March European Council with our traditional exchange of views with the President
of the European Parliament, Mr. Antonio Tajani, at 15.30 on Thursday. Following this exchange,
and before we move on to other matters, we will proceed with the election of the European Council
President for the period from June 2017 to November 2019. In accordance with established
practice this will be the first item of our agenda, and I will leave Prime Minister Muscat in charge of
handling it.
Next, we will revert to our usual format, where Prime Minister Muscat will update us on how we are
doing implementing our previous conclusions, including on migration. After adoption of the
conclusions on migration, we will hold our traditional spring debate about the economy. The overall
outlook in terms of growth, employment and public finances is getting better. And we need to use
this momentum to make the economies stronger while spreading the benefits of growth more
widely and fairly among citizens. The deepening of the Single Market and a robust trade policy are
two avenues to help us achieve those goals. At the same time, we also need to avoid the creation
of new barriers, both in Europe and on the global stage. I have invited the President of the
European Central Bank to share with us his observations on the EU and the euro area economies.
At the end of the working session, we will briefly address the possible establishment of a European
Public Prosecutor's Office. After adopting the relevant parts of the conclusions, we will break to
meet the press.
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