The adoption of the European Union's negotiating mandate on the future relationship with the United Kingdom will dominate the agenda of the General Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on Tuesday 25 February.
While the Member States' ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) finalised the text of the mandate given to Michel Barnier's team on Monday 24 February (see other news), ministers will have a discussion on the subject and will be invited to formally adopt the mandate. If that is the case, negotiations with London will start next week in Brussels.
Rule of law. The issue of respect for the rule of law in the EU and the procedures known as 'Article 7' against Poland and Hungary will make a low-key return to the European Affairs Ministers' table on 25 February. The Commission will present to them its draft strategy for the rule of law, including an annual report, a first version of which will be published in the course of 2020 (see EUROPE 12408/28).
It is within this framework that some Member States could take the floor, a diplomatic source said on Monday 24 February, either on this mechanism of the Commission or more broadly.
The last discussion of the Member States on the subject of the rule of law took place in December 2019, with a lively hearing on Hungary and a point of information on Poland (see EUROPE 12387/3).
The dossier on Poland and Hungary should then return more formally to the General Affairs Council in March, the diplomatic source said. The format of this discussion is not fixed and is currently under discussion with the Commission and the European Parliament in order to determine it, added the source.
For their part, at the initiative of Spanish MEP Iratxe García Pérez, the leaders of the EPP, S&D, Renew Europe, Greens/EFA and GUE/NGL political groups in the European Parliament sent a letter to the EU Council expressing their "deep concern" at the lack of progress in the proceedings initiated against Poland and Hungary in December 2017 and September 2018 respectively.
"We are well aware that discussions around the next Multi-annual Financial Framework are very important, but the Council cannot ignore the also important and continuous threat to its funding principles. Every missed opportunity to restore full respect to the rule of law, democracy and fundamental rights in the European Union has severe consequences for those being targeted on the grounds by the different reforms", argue the five political groups.
"The Council cannot turn a blind eye to the different debates and resolutions adopted in the Parliament in the last three months or the different legal actions taken by the Commission in both cases: it is high time to act!", they write. They still expect the EU Council to guarantee the European Parliament, in the Hungarian case, the same treatment as the Commission in the Article 7 procedure.
See the letter: http://bit.ly/32k7X99
Enlargement. On Tuesday, the Commission will present its new methodology for the enlargement process to Ministers.
Presented on 5 February (see EUROPE 12419/2), this methodology should make the process more credible, more political, more dynamic and more predictable.
According to the EU source, the presentation will not be followed by a debate, as ministers are expected to return to the issue in March, with the aim of reaching a decision on the opening of EU accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, on the basis of new Commission reports due to be published in the coming days.
As part of their preparations for the March European Council, ministers could discuss the opening of negotiations with the two Western Balkan countries and preparations for the EU/Balkans summit on 6 May in Zagreb.
Spring European Council. Ministers will discuss preparations for the EU summit on 26-27 March, traditionally devoted to economic issues.
In particular, the Twenty-Seven will discuss how to strengthen the internal market and remove barriers to its development, especially in the digital sector.
China. The General Affairs Council could also return to the "organisational, logistical and substantive" preparation for the EU-China Summit. It could take place at the end of March, but no date has yet been announced. And, due to the coronavirus epidemic, the meeting, scheduled to take place in Beijing, could be relocated.
Finally, the European Affairs Ministers will have an exchange of views with the Commission on the annual and multiannual legislative programme, which should lead to an interinstitutional declaration.
It should be noted that the Conference on the Future of Europe is not on the agenda of the next General Affairs Council, as the Croatian Presidency of the Council is trying to find a 27-member compromise on the objectives and modalities for that initiative (see other news). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic, Camille-Cerise Gessant with Mathieu Bion)