On Tuesday 18 October, the European affairs ministers of the EU Member States will discuss important institutional issues for the future of the EU, prepare for the European Summit on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 October, and take stock of the situation of the rule of law in Poland.
The General Affairs Council will have an exchange of views on the revision of the European Electoral Law on the basis of the European Parliament’s proposals.
In May, the Council narrowly favoured the creation of a European constituency in which candidates on transnational lists, led by head of list candidates (‘Spitzenkandidaten’), would compete (see EUROPE 12944/1). Analysed by the legal experts of the EU Council, the concept of ‘transnational lists’ has been qualified as compatible with EU law (Article 14 TEU).
A European electoral authority would be established to monitor the proper functioning of the electoral district, in addition to the elections held in each Member State. The European Parliament is also considering a single day, 9 May, for the European elections.
In a preparatory note to the ministerial discussions, the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU states that the “preliminary technical discussions pointed to specific challenges around transnational lists, measures aiming to harmonise processes across the EU (e.g. postal vote, voting age, common voting day), and the creation of a new Electoral Authority”.
“Member States have different views on different aspects of this legislative revision”, confirmed an EU source on Thursday 13 October, who added that, “this dossier needs political guidance at this stage”.
Ministers will be asked to indicate which elements they believe could be agreed and which remain controversial, such as the establishment of transnational lists for the European elections in May 2024.
See the Czech note: https://aeur.eu/f/3n7
European Convention. In addition, the Czech Presidency would like to sound out the Member States on whether the European Parliament’s request to convene a European Convention to reform the European treaties (Article 48 procedure) should be transferred to the European Council (see EUROPE 12968/17). This request, contained in two parliamentary resolutions adopted in the spring, constitutes the political direction that the European Parliament wishes to give to the results of the Conference on the Future of Europe.
In particular, MEPs want to see an end to the rule of unanimous decision-making by Member States, especially on foreign policy and tax issues. They call for a specific social protocol and new competences for the EU on health, energy and respect for fundamental values.
The European Commission is also in favour of a revision of the treaties, in particular to include solidarity between the generations.
However, the Czech Presidency appears tempted to play for time by specifying, in a specific note of which EUROPE has a copy, that a decision on the transfer of the European Parliament request to the European Council will not be made on Tuesday. The Presidency also asks Member States whether it is appropriate to wait for a detailed report from the European Parliament on a possible institutional reform, the adoption of which - previously planned for the autumn - has been delayed until early 2023.
In the EU Council, “a vast majority of delegations” nevertheless consider that “at this stage, priority should be given to proposals and initiatives that can be implemented under a constant treaty”, writes the Czech Presidency in this note, which is based on the replies to a questionnaire sent to the Member States (see EUROPE 13023/13).
According to the Member States, most of the proposals resulting from the Conference can indeed be implemented without amending the Treaties, by taking advantage of institutional flexibilities such as the “passerelle” clauses for the transition to qualified majority decision-making in the EU Council.
See the Czech note: https://aeur.eu/f/3n9
CoFoE. The ministers will also take stock on Tuesday of the EU Council’s follow-up to the recommendations of the Conference on the Future of Europe presented on 9 May (see EUROPE 12948/1).
The Czech authorities will ask the Member States whether the feedback event to show the citizens involved in the Conference how their recommendations have been taken into account by the EU institutions should be postponed until spring 2023. It mentions in particular potential risks linked to the health situation and cost issues, while the date put forward for the feedback event is 2 December in Brussels.
See the Czech note: https://aeur.eu/f/3na
European summit. The General Affairs Council will also address the issues on the agenda of the European Council on Thursday 20 and Friday 21 October. In the meantime, the Commission will present on Tuesday its latest proposals to tackle soaring energy prices caused by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and a recommendation on critical infrastructure protection (see EUROPE 13044/1).
The draft conclusions of Sunday 16 October contain some changes from the previous text (see EUROPE 13041/15). On energy, the new draft calls on the Commission to explore the possibility of establishing a dynamic and temporary price corridor for fossil gas, pending the introduction of a new European reference index for gas prices.
On support for Ukraine, the text has been strengthened, notably by asking the Commission to work towards more stable macroeconomic support for Ukraine by 2023 (see other news). The EU27 will also stand ready to further sanction Belarus, if it goes to war with Ukraine on the side of Russia.
See the draft conclusions of the EU summit dated 16 October: https://aeur.eu/f/3mz
Rule of law. Finally, the ministers will not formally hear Poland under the so-called ‘Article 7’ procedure of the Treaty on the rule of law, as the Czech Presidency had once envisaged. They will, nevertheless, have an exchange of views on the latest developments in the country (see EUROPE 13014/29).
Shorter than a hearing (1 hour, instead of an average of 3 hours for a hearing), the exchange format will be interactive, with Member States able to intervene and put questions to the Polish government. This format should allow for a more informal discussion, a source confirmed on Thursday.
Poland’s last hearing took place in February (see EUROPE 12896/20). Nevertheless, the situation remains worrying for some Member States, which will again point to deficiencies in judicial independence, despite the progress made on the reform of the disciplinary chamber of the Supreme Court.
The Benelux countries should again make a joint declaration on this occasion.
The fact that European Affairs Minister Konrad Szymański, considered by his European partners to be a “moderate”, recently announced his departure from the government is also not “reassuring”, a second diplomatic source said on 13 October.
Hungary, which is also subject to the ‘Article 7’ procedure, will be discussed in November under the Commission’s annual Rule of Law Report, along with four other Member States (see EUROPE 12992/1). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with Solenn Paulic)