On Tuesday 23 February, the EU Ministers for European Affairs will prepare the videoconference meeting of EU Heads of State or Government scheduled for 25 and 26 February. They will also take stock of the provisional implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
All the subjects on the agenda of the European summit—the fight against Covid-19, restrictions on free movement within the EU, security and defence and the southern neighbourhood—can be addressed by the Ministers on Tuesday, although foreign affairs issues will be discussed mainly the day before at the Foreign Affairs Council (see EUROPE 12662/12), a diplomatic source said on Friday 19 February.
On the fight against the pandemic, the gradual increase in vaccination campaigns could be discussed, particularly in the light of recent European Commission proposals to prepare the EU for variants of the coronavirus responsible for Covid-19 (see EUROPE 12660/1).
Another subject expected on Tuesday: the free movement of people within the Schengen area. The European Commission wanted to put the subject on the agenda of the meeting of Ministers, but the item was not prepared as such by the Portuguese Presidency. The European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, will intervene at a time when the Commission has recently reminded Member States of the importance of not taking unilateral restrictive measures and that these, if they prove unavoidable, remain proportionate (see EUROPE 12659/9).
“There is a need to limit the restrictions to what is absolutely essential”, the diplomat said.
See the draft agenda of the European summit: https://bit.ly/3boIIqT
United Kingdom. For the first time since the provisional entry into force—on 1 January 2021—of the EU/UK Trade Agreement, the General Affairs Council will take stock of the state of ratification of this agreement. It will also return to the recent difficulties encountered in Northern Ireland concerning the application of the Northern Ireland Protocol annexed to the British withdrawal agreement.
“This is a normal discussion, not a problem”, predicted this diplomat, recalling that the Ministers had not had time at the end of December to study the negotiated agreement that was reached just before Christmas.
This week, the Council of the EU approved by written procedure the request to extend—until 30 April—the period of provisional application of the agreement. But the United Kingdom has to say whether it agrees within the Partnership Council where David Frost will sit. The former British negotiator will therefore be Maroš Šefčovič’s interlocutor there, who will represent the EU.
This Partnership Council will be operational from 1 March, but London should not consider the extension of the provisional application of the bilateral agreement as a problem a priori.
With regard to the Northern Ireland Protocol, a new joint committee will be held on Wednesday 24 February, in which Mr Šefčovič and the British Minister, Michael Gove, will participate. The Europeans are ready to improve the application of the protocol, but without changing its foundations (see EUROPE 12657/18).
Democracy. Ministers will hold a first exchange of views on the European Action Plan for Democracy that the European Commission presented last December (see EUROPE 12615/1).
This sheet details the measures envisaged by the European institution to counter the “rise of extremism”, particularly online, interference in democratic processes, the lack of transparency of the digital giants and threats to journalists.
Freedom of the media is a particularly topical issue (see EUROPE 12661/23, 12658/18), on which the Council of the EU has so far kept a low profile.
Conference on the Future of Europe. Finally, the Portuguese Presidency of the EU Council will inform ministers of the ongoing discussions, at the highest political level, on the objectives and governance of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
This is the first time that the General Affairs Council will discuss the dossier after the Member States, at the level of their ambassadors to the EU, have officially revised their negotiating position on this citizens’ consultation exercise which could start in Strasbourg on 9 May (see EUROPE 12650/22).
According to this position, the presidency of the Conference would be held by the Presidents of the European Parliament, the Commission, and the leader of the country holding the rotating Presidency of the EU Council. On a day-to-day basis, an executive committee would be responsible for steering the work, with each institution in the trio getting up to three representatives.
The problem is that Parliament asks that each political group be represented in the future Executive Committee (see EUROPE 12656/30).
This issue of governance is the last hurdle before the adoption of an interinstitutional declaration laying the foundation for the objectives and governance of the Conference. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic, Mathieu Bion, Agathe Cherki)