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The heads of state and government of the EU countries at the group photo: For Angela Merkel it is probably the last of a total of more than 100 EU summits
Photo: OLIVIER HOSLET / EPA
The judicial dispute with Poland determines the EU summit in Brussels.
So far, the diplomatic talks have not brought a solution.
The debate between the 27 heads of state and government is a step that should help on the way to a solution, it said on Thursday night from EU circles.
Political dialogue is needed here.
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) tried to mediate in the dispute.
"The rule of law is at the core of the European Union," she said at the beginning of the meeting.
"On the other hand, we have to find ways and possibilities to get together again here." But the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki showed no concession in the matter and affirmed that his country would not allow itself to be blackmailed.
The background to the current dispute is a ruling by the Polish Constitutional Court in Warsaw, according to which parts of EU law are incompatible with Poland's constitution.
This decision is viewed by the EU Commission and a number of other states as extremely problematic because it could give the Polish government an excuse to ignore its unpleasant judgments of the European Court of Justice.
No agreement on energy prices
The summit also failed to find a common line when it came to the question of whether - and if so, how - long-term action should be taken against high energy prices.
The heads of state and government wrestled about this for hours - but in the end there were hardly any concrete results.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and her counterparts only agreed to examine the reasons for the recent price hike in more detail.
First of all, the EU countries should intervene nationally in order to protect consumers and companies from high costs in the short term.
The discussions are to be continued at a special meeting of the energy ministers next Tuesday.
Among other things, the joint purchase of gas will be discussed.
According to official figures, it will be the 107th EU summit for Merkel in 16 years of chancellorship.
If - as planned - a new federal government is in place by mid-December, Olaf Scholz (SPD) will travel to the next EU summit as Federal Chancellor.
Focus on Belarus
On the second day of the summit on Friday, Merkel and her colleagues wanted to discuss issues such as migration.
Belarus is likely to be the main focus.
Merkel accused ruler Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday of state trafficking in human beings.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of a "hybrid attack".
Lukashenko is accused of bringing migrants from crisis regions to the EU's external border in an organized manner.
At the end of May he announced that Minsk would no longer prevent migrants from continuing to travel to the EU - in response to tightened Western sanctions against his country.
Since then, reports of attempted illegal border crossings at the EU's external borders with Belarus and at the German-Polish border have increased.
lau / dpa / AFP
