Although a government in Finland is not expected until early June, the Finnish authorities are already actively preparing for the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2019, both in Helsinki and Brussels.
In addition to the legislative dossiers that the current Romanian Presidency will transmit to it at the end of June, three central themes have been identified: sustainable growth, the fight against climate change and security. The Finnish Presidency will also be the first Council Presidency to set out the leaders agenda for 2019-2024, which the Twenty-Seven will adopt at the end of June based on the work they start at the Sibiu Summit (see EUROPE 12247/1).
For Helsinki, the concept of sustainability must now be applied across all European policies. First, it requires an intra-Europe agreement on an ambitious long-term climate strategy for the UN summit to be held next September.
In his speech on the future of the EU in early January, outgoing Prime Minister Juha Sipilä called for an increase in the CO2 emission reduction target for 2020 (compared to 1990) and for a binding target of at least 55% by 2030 (see EUROPE 12184/8).
Sustainability must also be applied in the social field, say the Finns, who want to promote the concept of the “economy of well being”. Based on OECD studies on the subject, they point out that well-educated citizens with good working conditions are better able to create economic value.
These ambitions must go hand in hand with stimulating economic competitiveness. As a true European added value, the Single Market requires a holistic approach encompassing issues such as digitisation, a European industrial strategy and the EU's ability to deal with unfair trade practices from third countries.
For the Finnish authorities, a third country like China is “an important partner, but not at any price”. Nevertheless, they stress, the discussions on an assertive industrial strategy for the EU, which the Commission should present by the end of 2019 (see EUROPE 12220/3), must not weaken the level playing field that the single market is supposed to guarantee.
On security, the future Finnish Presidency intends to continue strengthening permanent structured cooperation (PESCO) (see EUROPE 12117/26 and 12141/19). And it wishes to contribute to the development of a coordinated approach to combating hybrid threats.
Rule of law. The future Finnish Presidency will not compromise on respect for the rule of law. It will resume the Council of the EU's work under the “Article 7” procedures of the Treaty on respect for the rule of law opened against Poland and Hungary, while several cases are pending before the EU Court of Justice. It will have to prepare for follow-up discussions between Member States in the framework of the political dialogue on the rule of law.
A European conference on fundamental rights will also be held in Helsinki in September.
The Finns are also awaiting the reconvening of the European Parliament, which will be voted in at the polls at the end of May, to relaunch discussions on the appointment of the head of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (see EUROPE 12232/11).
EU budget. Finally, in accordance with the conclusions of the European Council of December 2018 (see EUROPE 12159/3), the Twenty-Seven could be invited to reach unanimous agreement on the multiannual financial framework (MFF) 2021-2027 at the October summit.
Several factors will influence this work, particularly the preliminary discussions expected to take place in June at the highest political level, provided that discussions on appointments to the highest European offices (Presidencies of the European Commission, the European Council, the ECB and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy) are rapidly concluded with a view to taking office at the end of 2019.
Moreover, if not resolved by the end of October, the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union would inevitably complicate discussions on the EU's future seven-year budget. In the event of a further extension of the negotiation period on a Brexit deal, the Finnish authorities do not exclude a fresh start in these budgetary negotiations with a completely new legislative proposal. On this point, the ball is in London's court. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)