Summit meeting part of Europe Calling! Maastricht Treaty 25th Anniversary
On Thursday 20 October, the Provincial Government Buildings in Maastricht served as the setting for a European Summit organised by the European People’s Party (EPP). Seven EU heads of government, the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, about forty non-EU heads of government, and countless other distinguished guests attended the event. The EPP is a political party that represents 75 centre-right parties from forty countries in the European Parliament.
The EPP Summit was part of the ‘Europe Calling! Maastricht Treaty 25th Anniversary’ programme, a series of events celebrating the silver jubilee of the Maastricht Treaty. Sybrand Buma, leader of the Dutch Christian Democrats (CDA), took the initiative to organise the Summit.
In addition to Jean-Claude Juncker (President of the European Commission) and Donald Tusk (President of the European Council), the event was attended by EU government leaders Angela Merkel (Germany), Klaus Iohannis (Romania), Nicos Anastasiades (Cyprus), Boyko Borissov (Bulgaria), Viktor Orbán (Hungary), Enda Kenny (Ireland) and Mariano Rajoy (Spain). They and their parties are associated with the EPP and as government leaders they represent their countries on the European Council.
The EPP Summit was hosted by EPP President Joseph Daul, along with Manfred Weber, Chairman of the EPP Group in the European Parliament, and Antonio López-Istúriz, EPP Secretary-General.
The Summit called for the necessary security precautions and had broad coverage in the international press. Some eighty journalists were in Maastricht to report on the event.
