On Tuesday 8 October, MEPs set out their expectations for the forthcoming European Council on 17 and 18 October. Competitiveness, migration and the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine will be the main topics of the leaders’ meeting. Although the MEPs have expectations in all these areas, they are aware that the discussions will not go into detail about the reforms to be introduced.
Competitiveness. The Heads of State or Government will “take stock” of Mario Draghi’s report on competitiveness, Hungary’s Minister for European Affairs, János Bóka, told MEPs. The Council’s work is currently focused on finding a common language for the Budapest Declaration, which is due to be adopted on 8 November at the informal summit in Hungary.
All the groups represented in Parliament’s Chamber find the ‘Draghi’ report positive. Parliament is thus united in calling on the European Council to follow the recommendations set out in the report, even though they have differing views on some of them. They are, for example, very divided on the use of joint debt to invest in European industry, which Mario Draghi is calling for.
The first thing to do, therefore, is to build consensus where possible, in order to implement Mr Draghi’s report quickly, according to Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy (Renew Europe, Dutch). He also suggests that: “Mr Draghi should be entrusted with monitoring the implementation of his report in the Member States”.
For the Dutchman Bas Eickhout, however, the Council’s action in this area is not moving fast enough. “You can see that in the latest version of the draft conclusions of the European Council, Charles Michel is content to repeat empty phrases and put things off until later”.
In a draft set of conclusions dated 5 October, of which Agence Europe has received a copy, the subject of competitiveness is addressed in a few lines, indicating that the European Council should “discuss how the Council and the Commission will deal with further work”. And to refer the subject to the informal summit on 8 November.
Migration. Elected representatives critical of the ‘Pact on Migration and Asylum’ took the opportunity of the debate to reiterate their positions and demands. Speeches in the Chamber on this subject generally called for a firm stance on return policy and external border control, and came from the EPP, PfE, ECR and ESN Groups.
At the European Council on 17 and 18 October, the leaders intend to address these concerns by calling for “intensified cooperation with countries of origin and transit through mutually beneficial partnerships”. With regard to returns, they should take a stand in favour of “determined action at all levels to increase and accelerate returns from the European Union” and call on the Commission and the EU Council to propose a common approach to this issue.
Middle East. Several elected representatives expressed their support for the victims of the situation in the Middle East, and some pointed to the division of Europeans on this issue. There was also a specific debate on this subject, during which MEPs called on the EU to play a greater role in the conflict (see other news).
In their conclusions of 17 and 18 October, the Heads of State or Government should once again condemn in the strongest possible terms the attacks by Hamas (see EUROPE 13498/5).
Ukraine. Support for Ukraine was also reaffirmed in the Chamber ahead of the European Council meeting. In terms of next steps, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, has called for rapid adoption of the new ‘MFA’ macrofinancial assistance to Ukraine.
In Luxembourg on the same day, the Hungarian Minister of Finance, Mihály Varga, confirmed that the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union was aiming to reach a political agreement on this macrofinancial assistance (see other news).
The European Council, for its part, should insist on strengthening military support, according to the draft conclusions (see EUROPE 13498/9). (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)