Brussels, 12/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - Slovakia will hold the Presidency of the Council of the EU between 1 July and 31 December 2016, with two objectives above all in mind: overcoming the fragmentations within the Union and providing results for the European citizens, the country's Secretary of State for European Affairs, Ivan Korcok, said at a meeting in Brussels with a small group of journalists, including EUROPE, when presenting the outlines of his working programme, which will not be finalised until after the British referendum of 23 June.
“We want to help to get rid of, to overcome the fragmentations” and it is this objective that will define our priorities for action, Korcok stressed. However, it is equally important to give the European citizens some concrete results, he added. “We are aware of the enormous expectations in Europe, but also in Slovakia, for European integration to produce tangible and specific results for our citizens”, he said.
In pursuing these two objectives, the Slovakian Presidency will aim to lay emphasis on four areas for action. The first concerns economic and financial issues, such as the Capital Markets Union, which has been affected by this “fragmentation”, according to Korcok. Bratislava also plans to work on Economic and Monetary Union, which needs “an extra shot in the arm”. “We will seek an open discussion of what can be done with fiscal integration”, he added.
Like all the Presidencies of the Council of the second half of the year, Slovakia will also have to work on the European budget for the following year. As is also the case with the current Dutch Presidency, it also wishes to give priority to the deepening of the single market, including the digital single market and the Energy Union.
The third area for work will focus on the migration situation. “We need sustainable migration, a sustainable asylum policy”, Korcok stressed. Under the Slovakian Presidency, the Council will focus on recent legislative proposals connected to the migration crisis submitted by the European Commission and for which the Secretary of State anticipates tough discussions, not forgetting the fact that it is impossible to predict how the crisis will pan out, he added.
Finally, the last area for action will cover foreign affairs issues. Priority will be given to trade, in particular the agreements with Canada (CETA) and the United States (TTIP) and recognition of market economy status for China. The enlargement of the EU will also be dealt with.
A Presidency to be shaped by the British referendum. The Secretary of State warned that the Presidency's programme would not be definitively adopted until the very end of June, following the referendum in the United Kingdom. “We are waiting for the referendum”, because if the British people say 'yes' to staying in the Union, the Slovakian Presidency will play its part to “implement what has been agreed in the package negotiated with the United Kingdom” (see EUROPE 11495). If they say 'no', then “we will reflect on what the European Council will say about the result”, he said, adding that he hoped that he would be working on the basis of the former scenario. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)