The EU Ministers for European Affairs will meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday 22 June for a busy day of work, between preparations for the European Summit on 24 and 25 June, an update on the enlargement process and the Western Balkans and, in terms of the Rule of law, two new hearings for Poland and Hungary under Article 7 of the Treaty, something which has not taken place since 2019.
Rule of law
These two hearings will be particularly important at a time when the situation in both countries is deteriorating, with continued pressure on the judiciary in Poland and a recent worsening of the situation for LGBTI people in Hungary, with a new law triggering outrage (see EUROPE 12743/24).
The Portuguese Presidency had decided to hold new hearings for these two countries under the Rule of law procedure if conditions allowed for face-to-face hearings. It therefore had to wait until the end of the country’s Presidency.
Hearings on Poland were held three times between 2018 and 2019 and twice on Hungary, with the final hearing in November 2019 under the Finnish EU Council Presidency. The meeting was particularly eventful, with the Hungarian government choosing to make the ministerial discussions public on Twitter (see EUROPE 12387/3).
In terms of form, the hearings should follow the same modalities as the previous ones, with a presentation by the European Commission and an interactive exchange between the Member States and the country being heard. The questions asked will relate to the facts for which the two countries have been reproached by the European Commission and the European Parliament, (which remains outside the hearing exercise), but each country will be free to ask the questions it wishes, an EU source said, as no theme has been decided in advance. The hearings should, in principle, last 1.5 hours each.
“The situation has not evolved in the right direction; therefore, there is no reason to stop these two procedures” under Article 7, commented a diplomatic source mid-week. For the French MEP in charge of the Article 7 procedure against Hungary in Parliament, Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield (Greens/EFA), the fact that two new hearings are taking place is “a good thing”, she told journalists on Thursday 17 June. She also believes that there has been some progress in recent weeks with regard to the European Commission’s action, with new infringements being launched against Budapest, particularly on the issue of asylum.
However, she was cautiously optimistic about the content of the hearings, which could be too general and, while the situation in Hungary is “bad”, the Greens/EFA MEP also criticised the European Commission’s timidity on the subject of the conditionality of EU funds.
Experts will be invited to Parliament in the autumn to determine whether Member States can activate the cross-compliance mechanism themselves at their level, and Parliament is considering re-launching an ‘Article 7’ report against Hungary.
On Tuesday, at least, Belgium will present a joint statement on behalf of the three Benelux countries in reaction to the anti-LGBTI legal provisions adopted in Hungary.
Paris and Berlin are also planning a joint declaration on both Hungary and Poland.
Enlargement
The ministers will also discuss the EU accession process for the Western Balkans. The EU Council will hold discussions, particularly on the accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, which are still awaiting the organisation of their first intergovernmental conferences. No decision is expected at the end of the discussion. Despite mediation attempts by the German and then Portuguese EU Council Presidencies (see EUROPE 12718/19), the bilateral conflict between Bulgaria and North Macedonia is still blocking the adoption of the country’s negotiating box and, by extension, that of Albania.
The EU Council is also expected to discuss the political agreement with the European Parliament of 2 June on the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III), with more than €14 billion for the 2021-2027 period (see EUROPE 12733/10). The political agreement still needs final approval by the EU Council.
On the sidelines of the EU Council, the first two ‘political’ intergovernmental conferences with Serbia and Montenegro will also be held. The EU Council approved the application of the revised enlargement methodology for the accession negotiations with these two countries on 6 May. The aim of these ‘political’ intergovernmental conferences is to give new impetus to the accession negotiations. No EU accession negotiation chapters are expected to be opened, nor will the ones with Montenegro, which has already opened all these chapters, or with Serbia, be closed.
Whereas under the old methodology, intergovernmental conferences were held when negotiating chapters were opened and/or closed, the aim under the new methodology is to hold these conferences after the presentation of the enlargement package and the EU Council conclusions on enlargement. This year, due to a blockage by several Member States, the EU Council did not adopt conclusions on enlargement (see EUROPE 12626/20).
Conference on the Future of Europe. The Portuguese Presidency will brief the ministers on the results of the first general assembly of the Conference on the Future of Europe, which was held on Saturday 19 June at the seat of the European Parliament in Strasbourg (see EUROPE 12741/18).
After the official launch of the Conference on 9 May in Strasbourg (see EUROPE 12716/1), the inaugural meeting of the plenary assembly was the first time that its 433 members (including 108 MEPs, 108 national MPs, 108 citizens, and 54 Member State representatives) were physically present (see EUROPE 12715/4).
The Conference’s real work will start after the summer with the first meetings of the citizens’ panels.
The aim is to present recommendations on the evolution of the European project in April 2022, under the French Presidency of the EU Council.
Switzerland
Ministers will have a political discussion on the way forward with Switzerland after the failure of the negotiations on the framework agreement on 26 May (see EUROPE 12727/14). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic with Agathe Cherki, Camille-Cerise Gessant and Mathieu Bion)