The EU’s European Affairs ministers will prepare, on Tuesday 27 June in Luxembourg, for the discussions of the European Council, which will meet two days later in Brussels with a packed agenda.
Discussed on Monday 26 June by their foreign affairs counterparts (see other news), the continuation of political, financial, economic and military support for Ukraine is a central element of this agenda, as is work to hold Russia to account for crimes committed in Ukraine and to mobilise some of Russia’s frozen assets to help rebuild Ukraine.
In the presence of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the EU27 will discuss the issue of European defence and, perhaps, the security guarantees that could be granted to Ukraine, while the Allies will meet in Vilnius on 11 and 12 July.
On the economic and budgetary front, European leaders will discuss the European Commission’s recent proposals to strengthen the EU’s economic security (see EUROPE 13205/7), and may have an initial reaction to the mid-term reform of the Multiannual Financial Framework presented on the same day (see EUROPE 13205/1).
In the field of foreign affairs, the debate on the EU’s position vis-à-vis China – a power that is at once a partner, a competitor and a systemic rival – will continue, with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, hoping that the EU27 will adopt specific conclusions. The difficulty will be not to mix this debate with the one on economic security, which is not supposed to target any particular country.
The political crisis in Tunisia (see EUROPE 13199/15), tensions between Serbia and Kosovo (see other news) and the EU’s relations with Latin America and the Caribbean will also be discussed on 17 and 18 July in Brussels. There will also be an update on the external dimension of European migration policy, at a time when Poland and Hungary are strongly critical of the EU Council’s political agreement in principle on the Pact on Migration and Asylum.
It should be noted that Cyprus is pressing for greater EU involvement to facilitate the resumption of international negotiations to resolve the issue of Cyprus (see EUROPE 13200/5), despite the recent uncompromising stance taken by the recently re-elected Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Cypriot government is calling for the appointment of an EU Special Envoy.
“This could be a problem, because we are on Cyprus’ side and our credibility would be rather limited”, said a European diplomatic source on Thursday 22 June.
To see the draft conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/7LX
Enlargement. Over lunch, the ministers will exchange views with Moldova’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nicu Popoescu, on Moldova’s progress towards opening accession negotiations with the EU.
On Thursday, the Commission reported orally on the efforts made by Moldova and Ukraine, two official candidate countries, and Georgia, a country which has been granted the European perspective, on the basis of the recommendations made to them in June 2022 (see EUROPE 13207/10, 13206/3).
Electoral Act. The EU ‘General Affairs’ Council will also discuss the reform of the European Electoral Act called for by the European Parliament.
This proposal, initiated by the MEPs, includes the creation of a European electoral constituency which would allow, in addition to the European elections taking place at national level, the election of 28 MEPs registered on transnational lists led by head of list candidates (‘Spitzenkandidaten’) (see EUROPE 13207/16).
The ministers will take the opportunity to discuss the European Parliament’s proposal to increase the composition of the hemicycle from 705 to 716 seats for the 2024-2029 legislature, a proposal that several EU countries have criticised (see EUROPE 13207/17).
EU Council Trio Presidency. The representatives of Spain, Belgium and Hungary will present to their counterparts the political priorities of this EU Council Trio Presidency for the period July 2023-December 2024.
See the programme of the trio of Presidencies: https://aeur.eu/f/7nt
ETS. It should be noted that Poland has requested that an item on the impact of the European CO2 emission allowance market on the EU be included on the agenda of the EU ‘General Affairs’ Council.
European Semester. Finally, the ministers will approve without debate the socio-economic policy recommendations addressed to each Member State (see EUROPE 13187/22). These recommendations include an indicative quantitative limit on the increase in net public expenditure.
To see the recommendations addressed to each EU country: https://aeur.eu/f/7oq (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)