After a long discussion, the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU supported the Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council’s proposal at the meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper I), late in the afternoon on Wednesday 24 November.
Thus, the Slovenian proposal, which generally renders the European Commission’s proposal more flexible (see EUROPE 12837/12), is confirmed for a general approach at the December Employment and Social Policy Council (EPSCO). Only Denmark voted against the proposal, although several Member States expressed reservations.
The day before, in the ‘Mertens’ group, the Coreper preparatory group, things were not a done deal: Poland, Estonia and Finland had not yet decided their position, we were told. Germany, which does not have a government in place yet, had indicated that it would abstain, two European sources added.
In the European Parliament, MEPs are due to vote on the negotiating mandate on Thursday morning, 25 November, in a plenary session in Strasbourg, after it was challenged by a group of mainly Scandinavian MEPs earlier this week (see EUROPE 12836/10). The results will be known early in the afternoon.
To see the Slovenian proposal: https://bit.ly/3oSHj2B
To view Parliament’s compromise amendments: https://bit.ly/3kqIXHl (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)