On Tuesday 25 June, the EU ministers responsible for European affairs will debate the transparency to be imposed in the EU on the representation of interests on behalf of third countries. They will hold further hearings with Hungary on respect for the rule of law in that country and will prepare for the European Council on 27 and 28 June.
Defending democracy. The General Affairs Council will hold a policy debate on the Directive on the transparency of representation of interests for third countries. This will be the second ministerial discussion on this central directive of the ‘Defence of Democracy’ package, presented in December 2023 (see EUROPE 13335/28).
This proposal aims to establish harmonised rules across the EU to ensure transparency and democratic accountability, specifically targeting the lobbying activities of entities representing foreign governments. These entities will have to comply with a detailed transparency register, which Member States are encouraged to keep at national level, to ensure greater visibility of the actions of these organisations. Fifteen Member States currently have a transparency register for interest representation activities, but not always at national level.
The EU27 will also have to designate independent authorities to monitor the application of these rules.
The objective set by the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU is to continue discussions on various points raised at the end of January. At the time, the ministers expressed the need to strike a balance between the fight against foreign influence and the preservation of fundamental rights, such as freedom of association, concerns shared by civil society organisations (see EUROPE 13162/11).
Hungary. The ministers will hold a seventh hearing of Hungary under the so-called ‘Article 7 of the Treaty’ procedure, triggered in 2018 against the country by the European Parliament.
This hearing will have an inevitably symbolic dimension, since Hungary, some of whose European funds have been frozen because of its difficulties in respecting the principles of the rule of law, will take on the six-monthly Presidency of the Council of the EU on 1 July.
But no further action is expected in Luxembourg on Tuesday.
A new effort to move towards a potential vote to establish a clear risk of violation of European values is not on the agenda either, contrary to what the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hadja Lahbib, suggested at the beginning of June in an interview with Politico (see EUROPE 13422/18).
This hearing is likely to once again become a routine exercise, during which the Commission will provide an update on the latest developments and Hungary will respond to the various concerns raised.
On Monday 24 June, a diplomatic source said that it was too late for Belgium to take any further action on this ‘Article 7’ procedure, while acknowledging that Hungary’s various obstructions to a whole series of European issues posed an “image problem” for the EU around the world.
It was after the announcement of a new Hungarian veto on aid to Ukraine that the Belgian minister called on her partners to go ahead with the ‘Article 7’ procedure and take a step towards suspending Hungary’s voting rights in the EU Council. Hungary’s last hearing took place in May 2023.
European Council. The General Affairs Council will prepare the work of the European Council on 27 and 28 June.
Following the informal European summit on 17 June, which drew the first lessons from the European elections (see EUROPE 13433/1), the EU27 will be called upon to appoint, by a qualified super-majority, the persons responsible for chairing the European Commission and the European Council, as well as the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs.
In order for the EU to be in a position to welcome new Member States, the European Council should invite the Commission to present, in spring 2025, a detailed assessment of EU policies in four areas: - values and respect for the rule of law; - competitiveness and economic sovereignty; - the future of the EU budget; - institutional governance.
Perhaps in the presence of the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, the EU27 will review the latest decisions taken to support Ukraine militarily, economically and politically (security guarantee, opening of EU accession negotiations, loans to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian public assets) (see other news).
They will also discuss the situation in the Middle East, where the humanitarian situation in Gaza has not improved despite the orders of the International Court of Justice. And they will reiterate the EU’s position, which is designed to bring about a just political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Other issues on the European Council agenda include European security and defence, and competitiveness. In the end, this last subject is not likely to be the subject of major discussions between European leaders, as Mario Draghi’s report on the single market is not due to be presented until mid-July.
As a result, the European Council has little to add to its April discussions (see EUROPE 13394/1), apart from reiterating the “urgency and importance” of completing the Capital Markets Union (CMU) to mobilise the private investment needed to reindustrialise the continent.
As for the work to strengthen the internal market, everything seems to have been said in Enrico Letta’s report, presented in April. The leaders are simply asking the European Commission and the Council of the EU to “rapidly identify the measures needed to create truly integrated markets”.
See the draft conclusions of the European Council: https://aeur.eu/f/csf (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry, Solenn Paulic, Léa Marchal, Mathieu Bion)