The Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, and the President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, will discuss on Wednesday, 20 January in Brussels how to unblock the governance issue of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
The idea of a tripartite chairmanship - European Parliament, Council of the EU, European Commission - has resurfaced and could be tested on this occasion. According to our information, it was discussed, on Thursday, 14 January, at a Coordinators’ meeting of Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs, with the administration of the European institution represented by its Deputy Secretary General, Markus Winkler.
Prime Minister Costa will be in Brussels on Wednesday, where he will meet with Mr Sassoli in order to find a solution that is “quick”, “as pragmatic as possible” and “that will allow us to get the Conference off to a good start”, said Ana Paula Zacarias, Portuguese Secretary of State for European Affairs, on Monday, 18 January, at the end of the General Affairs Council, assuring that the European Ministers had not mentioned either the chairmanship of the Conference or its duration, although France wants decisions to be taken as early as spring 2022 (see EUROPE 12634/4). She stressed the importance of finding “a complete balance” between the three EU institutions.
“We must not remain paralysed because of the Covid-19 pandemic”, she nevertheless indicated, evoking the start of this pan-European citizen consultation exercise under the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU.
If a tripartite chairmanship makes it possible to break the deadlock, will Parliament confirm its initial position to give this role to Guy Verhofstadt (Renew Europe, Belgium)? Some in Parliament are wondering what role Mr Sassoli will play at the end of his Presidency in the autumn of 2021. And in the EU Council, will the Member States opt to be represented by the country holding the rotating Presidency or will they choose a political figure such as the former Danish Prime Minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, whose name was tested - unsuccessfully - at the end of 2020 by the Franco-German alliance?
If agreement is reached on the chairmanship, the three EU institutions will also have to finalise the composition of the executive board responsible for steering the day-to-day work of the Conference, including the number of representatives from the institutional trio. It is this executive board that will be responsible for deciding on the practical arrangements for the conference, such as the pace of work and how to choose the citizens invited to debate.
“It is high time to open the Conference, as expectations are high”, said Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič.
In Parliament, some members are surprised that the administration has set up a working group of a dozen or so people without the Committee on Constitutional Affairs being fully informed. Parliament’s position on the duration of the conference or how to choose citizens are, however, political questions to be addressed by political bodies, one source stressed. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)