On Tuesday, 20 September, the EU Member States’ European Affairs Ministers will discuss aspects of the rule of law and follow-up to the recommendations of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
Rule of law. The General Affairs Council will hold a general discussion on the situation of the rule of law in the EU27 on the basis of the third annual report, published by the Commission on 13 July (see EUROPE 12992/1).
This will be a so-called ‘horizontal’ discussion on the different pillars covered by the report, namely: the independence of the judiciary, the fight against corruption, media pluralism and the overall institutional balance in the Member States.
This discussion will be followed in November by a more specific country-by-country debate. Five Member States will then be specifically examined in terms of the four pillars covered by the annual report, namely Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Slovenia and Romania.
Although the discussion on Tuesday should not, in principle, concern the so-called ‘Article 7’ procedures concerning Hungary and Poland, which should be on the agenda of the General Affairs Council of 18 October, it is possible that the decision taken by the Commission on Sunday against Hungary under the ‘rule of law’ regulation will be mentioned (see other news).
Hungary could use the opportunity to revisit the latest anti-corruption reforms announced in connection with the decision on the Rule of Law Regulation. In any case, no substantive discussion is expected to be held on Tuesday on this specific subject, as some delegations consider it too early to comment on it and wish to analyse its content first.
Conference on the Future of Europe. The Ministers will discuss the follow-up to the recommendations of the Conference on the Future of Europe. In particular, they will be asked about their willingness to reform the functioning of the EU, after Commission President Ursula von der Leyen clearly sided with the European Parliament in calling for a Convention to reform the EU institutions (see EUROPE 13021/11).
According to a questionnaire from the Czech Presidency of the EU Council, the majority of national delegations do not wish to engage in a revision of the treaties at this stage (see EUROPE 13023/13). Some, such as Germany and Sweden, are open to the use of the bridging clauses in the current treaties, which would allow Member States to take decisions by qualified majority in specific policy areas, such as EU sanctions for human rights violations, taxation or anti-discrimination.
Ministers could also discuss what the Council could do on its own initiative to implement some of the recommendations of the Conference on the Future of the EU.
See the preliminary report of the Czech Presidency: https://aeur.eu/f/34r
United Kingdom. With Liz Truss taking over as UK Prime Minister in early September, Ministers will ask Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič to provide an update on EU-UK relations and the new opportunities with the new UK Prime Minister.
With the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday, “everything is slowed down a bit, but this debate will still be important”, a diplomatic source said on Monday (19 September), adding that the EU remains “ready to discuss constructively” with London how to resolve the difficulties surrounding the Northern Ireland protocol.
Member States should renew their support to the Commission and reiterate that a renegotiation of this protocol is not an option for the EU27.
European Council. The ministers will prepare the agenda for the EU summit on 20-21 October in Brussels, which will take place two weeks after the constituent meeting of the European Political Community on 6-7 October in Prague (see EUROPE 13017/19).
At the end of October, there could be talk of further sanctions against Russia in response to its military invasion of Ukraine, including the G7 price cap on Russian oil (see EUROPE 13013/1). Such a decision requires the unanimity of the EU27.
The Heads of State and Government will also discuss the European response to the energy crisis (see EUROPE 13021/1), the preparation of COP27 and China, which will be the subject of a strategic discussion.
See the agenda of the EU summit: https://aeur.eu/f/35l
Work Programme for 2023. Before the Commission officially unveils it, the General Affairs Council will debate the future work programme for 2023, based on the Commission's letter of intent given in the State of the Union speech and the 2022 outlook report, which calls for maximising synergies between the climate and digital transitions.
See the letter of intent: https://aeur.eu/f/35t (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic and Mathieu Bion)