At the General Affairs Council on Tuesday 28 January, member states will be invited to reach agreement on the arrangements for the Conference on the Future of Europe.
Agreement on this issue, which is the only issue officially on the European affairs ministers’ agenda, will allow the Council of the EU to enter into negotiations with the European Parliament and the European Commission, both of which have presented their vision of how the Conference should be organised.
The Presidents of the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament will meet to discuss the future of the Union on Thursday 30 January in the Maison Jean Monnet in Bazoches-sur-Guyonne, France.
We are hoping that on Tuesday the ministers will give us their “final” political assessment on the political issues that remain open, such as “institutional” and “governance” issues, a diplomatic source said on Friday 24 January.
The source indicated that, although member states had not initially requested that a Conference like this be held, they were now fully involved in the search for the ideal system of governance.
According to a note issued by Croatia (see EUROPE 12410/9), the member states are insisting in particular on the importance of shared and equal responsibility between the European institutions for the Conference, although the Parliament intends to lead the way.
“Let’s not have the feeling that someone is more in the lead than the others”, the source said. The source also stressed that the outcome of the Conference should not be decided in advance.
EU budget. On Tuesday, the Croatian Presidency will present its priorities for the first half of 2020, including respect for the rule of law and EU enlargement.
According to our source, negotiations on sectoral legislation to implement the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027 are mostly expected to continue, although the European Parliament has threatened to freeze them in response to the lack of ambition shown by the Council of the EU in this area. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with Camille-Cerise Gessant)