The French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, explained on Wednesday 17 November that the French Presidency of the EU Council, whose term will begin in the first half of 2022, hoped to achieve progress on digital, climate and social issues.
Speaking at the European Business Summit, the Secretary of State said there were many ambitious targets to be met in the ‘Fit for 55’ package, highlighting the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). “big change to have it decided politically during this semester”, he said.
Mr Beaune also expressed a hope for concrete progress in the social field, citing the minimum wage directive.
Finally, he recalled the importance of making progress on “two very important regulatory texts”: the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act. He believes these texts will be a means of establishing international standards at EU level.
Asked about the fact that the French presidential elections will be held during the French Presidency of the EU Council, Mr Beaune recalled that a similar situation had occurred in 1995. “We want as little disruption to our EU Council Presidency as possible,” he explained.
“This means that we have to be even better organised, in advance, to make sure that we are ready to put proposals on the table,” added the Secretary of State, specifying that they would need to be as efficient as possible, especially during the first quarter of the Presidency, before the elections which are scheduled for April. Mr Beaune hoped that from the beginning of May, work could continue with the same French team.
“We will always give priority to the European responsibilities we have during this semester,” he promised. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)