(ANSA) - TRIESTE, 09 MAG - Twenty-one EU Heads of State have issued a joint call to EU citizens to exercise their right to vote at the European elections in May, noting that "our common European future is on the ballot." They added that the 2019 elections "are of special importance." "It is you, the European citizens who decide which path the European Union shall follow," the presidents of 21 EU member countries wrote, underlining that "Europe is the best idea we have ever had." The Italian President Sergio Mattarella signed the joint appeal together with the Heads of State of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, France, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

"European integration has helped to realise a centuries-old hope for peace in Europe after unbridled nationalism and other extreme ideologies led Europe to the barbarity of two world wars," the document reads. "To this day, we cannot and should not take peace and freedom, prosperity and well-being for granted. It is necessary that we all engage actively for the great idea of a peaceful and integrated Europe." "The European Union is facing profound challenges," the joint call continues, citing Brexit and talks "about rolling back one or more integration steps, such as freedom of movement or abolishing joint institutions." "Views on these matters differ among the citizens and governments of the Member States, as well as between us Heads of State. However, we all agree that European integration and unity is essential and that we want to continue Europe as a Union. Only a strong community will be able to face up to the global challenges of our time," including "climate change, terrorism, economic globalisation, and migration." "We thus need a strong European Union, a Union that has joint institutions, a Union that constantly reviews its work with a critical eye and is able to reform itself, a Union that is built on its citizens and on its Member States as a vital base," the 21 Presidents wrote. (ANSA).

Even at a summit of unity, European Union leaders will always find something to disagree about. The 27 EU nations, minus Britain, will be plotting a united way ahead in the wake of Brexit negotiations which have preoccupied the bloc for the past two years. Britain is still nominally a member, but Prime Minister Theresa May is staying in London seeking a belated breakthrough to get the Brexit deal through the U.K. Parliament.
In the Romanian president's hometown of Sibiu, the other EU leaders will be seeking to start dealing with the five-yearly rite of attributing top jobs, now that European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker are leaving later this year. It promises to be a mighty tussle.