On Tuesday 21 March, the ministers of the EU Member States responsible for European affairs will prepare the work of the Spring European Council, which will meet on Thursday 23 and Friday 24 March in the presence of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres.
The EU27 will take stock of the EU’s assistance in helping Ukraine resist Russian military aggression, including through the supply of ammunition (see other news and EUROPE 13137/10). With Mr Guterres, discussions will also cover the continuation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which enables the export of Ukrainian grain despite the war, a European diplomat said on Thursday 16 March.
On Tuesday, at lunch, the General Affairs Council will exchange views with the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister, Olha Stefanishyna, on the current and future reforms in Ukraine on the path to EU membership. It will be an “open” discussion, the European source said, adding that it was still too early for the European Commission to present an ‘oral report’ on Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia’s progress regarding their rapprochement with the EU.
Other topics on the agenda of the Heads of State and Government next Thursday and Friday include the Commission’s recent proposals to boost European competitiveness and the development of ‘net zero’ industry in the EU (see EUROPE 13143/1), energy issues such as the reform of the European electricity market (see EUROPE 13141/1) and migration policy. A Euro Summit will also take place on Friday 24 March.
See the draft European Council conclusions of 13 March: https://aeur.eu/f/5vv
Relations with the United Kingdom. On Tuesday, ministers will discuss progress made with the UK government on the situation in Northern Ireland in the context of post-Brexit EU-UK relations.
Specifically, they are expected to give the political “green light” to the ‘Windsor Framework’ for facilitating trade between Britain and Northern Ireland by easing or removing controls on goods and commodities destined only for Northern Ireland.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, formalised the terms of the agreement on 27 February (see EUROPE 13130/2).
The discussion across the Channel on the Windsor Framework will also be closely monitored. This framework gives the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont the power to block and reject new EU laws. The agreement will be put to the vote on Wednesday 22 March in the British Parliament.
“We hope that this progress can also be confirmed on this side”, said the European diplomat.
Rule of law. The General Affairs Council will also continue the traditional annual dialogue on respect for the rule of law in the Member States. Based on the Commission’s 2022 report published last July (see EUROPE 12992/1), it will examine the independence of the judiciary, checks and balances, media freedom and anti-corruption legislation in Bulgaria, Belgium, Finland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
European Semester. Finally, the Ministers will briefly discuss the budgetary process of the ‘European Semester’. They will forward several reports to the European Council for formal adoption, such as the fiscal and socio-economic policy recommendation for the euro area for 2023 (see EUROPE 13096/8).
See the synthesis report of the Swedish Presidency of the EU Council: https://aeur.eu/f/5vu (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic and Mathieu Bion)