On Monday 16 September, European affairs ministers will for the first time hear the Hungarian government on the problems of respect for the rule of law identified by the European Parliament in September 2018 in its report triggering the so-called 'Article 7' procedure.
It will have taken a year for this hearing to take place, largely at the initiative of the Finnish Presidency. This moment will probably be the most anticipated topic of the day for ministers meeting in the EU General Affairs Council.
For three hours on Monday afternoon, the Hungarian Minister for European Affairs, Judit Varga, will be invited to explain the Hungarian government's actions in a series of areas between the education sector, judicial reforms, asylum and the treatment of migrants, all concerns raised by the European Parliament in its report.
Member States will be able to intervene and ask questions and the Commission should also present a list of the various infringement proceedings launched against Hungary, in particular in relation to the question of the rule of law.
The situation in Poland, which has already had three hearings, will also be assessed, as the Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee has just written to the European Commission asking it to take action on the campaigns of intimidation of Polish judges by the authorities.
The theme of the rule of law will also be part of the morning session of ministers, who, this time in a public debate, will focus on tools to strengthen its application in the Member States on the basis of the Commission's recent communication (see EUROPE 12298/2).
The discussion will be structured around three questions, explained the Finnish Presidency on Friday 13 September, namely: how could the EU Council make use of the Rule of Law Review Cycle proposed by the Commission in July? Should the EU Council’s annual rule of law dialogue become a general discussion on the state of play and latest developments regarding the rule of law in Member States, instead of or in addition to the current thematic discussions? The third question will focus on the role of the peer review mechanism, suggested by Belgium and Germany in the spring, and its interaction with the Rule of Law Review Cycle, proposed by the Commission.
Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027.
The other major topic for the Council of the EU will be on the progress of negotiations on the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027. Thematic discussions are not planned during this EU Council. The Presidency will inform ministers of the next steps, bearing in mind that the October European Council is expected to discuss this sensitive issue with a view to reaching an agreement by the end of December.
In order to prepare for the exchanges that will take place between the leaders, the Presidency prepared a questionnaire which delegations replied to during the summer break. Bilateral meetings have also recently taken place at ministerial level. After receiving guidelines from the European Council, the Presidency should draw up a new version of the Negotiating Box, which will finally include figures on the various sections of the MFF.
Ministers will also have the draft agenda for the October European Council. It is also possible that, upon their arrival in Brussels, they will also comment on the status of discussions with London on the United Kingdom's exit from the EU, still scheduled for 31 October.
Link to the discussion note on the rule of law: https://bit.ly/2lPJaZh (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic and Lionel Changeur)