The ambassadors of the Member States to the European Union will discuss, on Wednesday 3 February, the governance of the Conference on the Future of Europe, and a political agreement is hoped for soon on the basis of a recent proposal by the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council.
The Portuguese authorities, who had already tested the ground last weekend (see EUROPE 12647/19, 12640/28), suggest modifying the EU Council's position, which dates back to June 2020 (see EUROPE 12513/25), by stating that the future Conference will be placed “under the authority of the three European institutions” - the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission - represented by their respective presidents. The initial reference to an independent European personality would therefore be deleted.
According to the proposal dated the end of January, of which EUROPE had received a copy, an “executive board” would be set up to steer the day-to-day work of the Conference. The European Parliament, the EU Council and the Commission could appoint “up to three representatives” who will act on an equal footing. A representative of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) would sit in as an “observer”.
The Executive Board, which would take decisions by “consensus” on all matters relating to the organisation of the Conference, would be entitled to invite representatives of other European bodies or groups, in particular the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European Committee of the Regions (CoR). It would be supported by “a secretariat”, again composed equally of representatives of the three institutions.
According to the Portuguese proposal, the work of the Conference should begin “as soon as possible” after the signing of the joint declaration of the institutional trio, which will set out the objectives and functioning of the Conference, particularly in the form of online debates both at European level and in the Member States. A formal event “ could take place on 9 May 2021 in Strasbourg”, if the health conditions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic allow for it, the Portuguese authorities said.
While the aim is to start thinking about the future of Europe, no reference is made to the duration of the work. These were initially planned over a period of 2 years in the event of a start in the spring of 2020. However, France, the initiator of the initiative, says it would like decisions to be taken as early as spring 2022 under the French Presidency of the EU Council (see EUROPE 12634/4). Favourable to the Portuguese compromise proposal, the French authorities are hoping for an agreement in the coming days with a view to starting work in the coming weeks. They hope that the Conference will produce a political declaration in the first half of 2022 laying the foundations for a Europe at 10-15 years, before a phase of implementing the commitments made begins.
See the Portuguese proposal for revision of the EU Council position: https://bit.ly/3asyBRG (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)