EU Member States' ambassadors followed the presentation of the four Member States competing to host the future European Labour Agency at the meeting of the Permanent Representatives Committee I (Coreper I) on Wednesday 5 March.
The representatives of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Latvia and Slovakia had three minutes to present their projects, followed by the evaluation made by the European Commission presented a few days earlier (see EUROPE 12266/19). No action was subsequently taken by the Member States.
This is a dress rehearsal for the vote at ministerial level to be held in Luxembourg on Thursday 13 June at the Employment and Social Policy Council (EPSCO). On the morning of the 13th, after the presentation of the various candidatures, the Member States will vote in turn and by secret ballot (one Member State corresponds to one vote).
Voting rules were defined in detail earlier in the year (see EUROPE 12214/33). If, in the first ballot, a candidate receives more than half of the votes counted, thus representing the majority, that candidate shall be considered as selected.
If no candidate receives more than half of the votes counted, the two proposals receiving the highest number of votes shall be submitted to a second - or more - round of voting until their votes are decided.
For the time being, Slovakia looks to be the favourite, according to several sources, particularly because of its geographical location. However, this does not mean that the matter is settled, as the various candidate countries have conducted intensive bilateral negotiations in recent weeks. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)