Brussels, 26/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - The General Affairs Council will meet on Friday 27 January to discuss the new multiannual financial framework and prepare for the European Council on Monday 30 January, which will be called on to endorse two treaties, the first setting up the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the second on budgetary convergence within the Economic and Monetary Union. The Benelux countries have called for discussion of events in Hungary, where the slide to greater authoritarianism is continuing to give cause for concern.
Budget. The Council will discus proposals on the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020. Ministers will be asked to set out their main priorities and to indicate whether they agree with the overall sums proposed by the Commission for the 2014-2020 period. In all, and including off-budget items, the Commission proposal amounts to €1,083 billion, a 5% increase on the current planning period. In September last year, eight countries - Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom - said they found the Commission proposal to be too high. For these countries, “the new financial framework should not lead to an increase in national contributions to the EU budget”. It must also be borne in mind that 13 cohesion countries - Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Hungary - are calling for a strong cohesion policy. The Council will discuss the financial framework again in March and April. From May, it is hoped that sufficient progress should have been made in discussions to allow negotiations to be conducted through a “negotiating box”, a draft structure of the conclusions of the European Council, recalling the main issues and options and reflecting the outcome of the orientation debates held in the General Affairs Council.
Summit. EU foreign ministers will discuss the items on the agenda of the European Council. All 27 member states will attend this summit, no special meeting of the eurozone countries having been convened at this point. Greece, which is continuing negotiations with its private creditors on restructuring its debt, and its situation does not feature - at least not officially - on the agenda.
The version of the fiscal compact discussed at the Ecofin Council is still the one on the table (see EUROPE 10538). A number of issues, therefore, remain open for discussion: involvement in eurozone summits of countries which are not part of the euro, and the number of countries that will be required to ratify the treaty for it to come into force. This treaty, which, in March, will be signed by 26 member states (all, except the United Kingdom), will require the countries party to incorporate into their national laws a “golden rule” imposing budgetary discipline.
European leaders, having long been exercised by financial recovery, will hope to be able to lay the emphasis on growth and competiveness. “I want us this time to focus on immediate action to be taken in the specific areas of youth unemployment, the single market and SMEs”, said European Council President Herman Van Rompuy in his letter of invitation to heads of state and government. These three points will have to be addressed by member states in their national employment programmes which they will include in their macro-economic programmes as part of the European semester. Re-allocation of European structural funds will also be considered. The European Council will also give consideration to how to make the internal market better serve small businesses (by reducing red tape, and the conclusion of negotiations on the European patent, for example). (MB/transl.rt)