Security and migration, economic competitiveness and stability in the Balkans are the three priority areas for the Austrian Presidency of the Council of the EU, to launch on 1 July, the Austrian Ambassador to the European Union, Dr Nikolaus Marschik, announced at an event hosted by the European Policy Centre on Thursday 21 June.
“We believe in and we will work for a 'Europe that protects'”, Marschik said, adding: “we want to build a more robust European house to be able to face our common challenges, from migration to the Eurozone”.
On migration, the ambassador noted that there is a consensus between member states to tighten up the external borders of the EU. The European border guard and coastguard corps should be better equipped and have a reinforced mandate, he said, arguing that progress on this front will lead to progress in other migration dossiers.
Work with the countries of origin and of transit will be stepped up, to facilitate the returns of migrants not eligible for international protection. Austria also plans to assist people who are entitled to asylum before they reach the EU, whilst discouraging those who are not from risking their lives to travel to Europe, its working programme states. The programme makes no specific mention of the idea of creating landing platforms for migrants outside the EU (see EUROPE 12044).
With the migration challenge once again central to the discussions of a preparatory meeting, to be held this Sunday, for the European Council of Thursday 28 June, Vienna has already planned to hold a further informal meeting of the European leaders to discuss migration, in Salzburg on Thursday 20 September.
Economic security and competitiveness. Austria, which will be presiding over the Council for the third time, also hopes to show the citizens that the EU is capable of offering them more economic security. It recommends an intelligent policy of support to the digital transformation, which is a source of growth and jobs, but also a source of concerns over privacy.
Although it stresses the importance of avoiding excess red tape so as not to hinder the rise of the digital economy, Vienna will continue the work to tax digital platforms in the member state in which profits are generated.
Western Balkans. Austria's third focus area will be the stability of the Western Balkans. The security of the EU inevitably depends on the security of its neighbourhood. “This region belongs to Europe and proved itself a reliable partner during the 2015 migration crisis”, said Austria, which will extend the actions of the outgoing Bulgarian Presidency on the basis of the European strategy announced by the Commission in February (see EUROPE 11955).
On the forthcoming negotiations concerning the multiannual financial framework 2021-2027, Marschik identified three main issues: the size of the EU budget post-2020, its structure and, a particularly relevant aspect, the timing of the negotiations.
It is worth noting that the Austrian Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, will address the European Parliament at the July plenary session. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)