The Member States' Ambassadors to the European Union (Coreper) did not finalise the EU Council's position on Wednesday 5 February on the objectives and outlines of the Conference on the Future of Europe (see EUROPE 12417/5, 12413/2).
The discussion in Coreper lasted "2 hours", according to a European source, but nothing concrete came out of it. "The ambassadors have exchanged views. It is moving forward on this issue", the Croatian Presidency replied.
One of the stumbling blocks is the chairmanship of this Conference, which is due to begin its work on 9 May, the 70th anniversary of the Schuman Declaration, probably in Dubrovnik.
According to the latest document of the Croatian Presidency, dated Monday, 3 February, the Conference is to be placed under the authority of : - an eminent independent European personality chosen by mutual agreement between the three European institutions, or; - a collegiate Presidency consisting of the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council of the EU on an equal footing.
A steering group composed of representatives of the institutional trio would ensure the daily follow-up of the work of the Conference. The Presidency of the Conference of National Parliamentary Committees responsible for European Affairs would be associated with it.
See the Croatian document: http://bit.ly/2udLIoO (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)