On Tuesday 28 January in Brussels, the EU ministers responsible for European Affairs will hold a dialogue on respect for the Rule of law in four Member States.
This latest instalment of a regular exercise on the Rule of law will look at the specific situation in Hungary, Romania, Portugal and Slovenia.
These four countries will be studied on the basis of the findings of the Commission’s annual report of July 2024 (see EUROPE 13460/1). This report analyses the state of judicial independence, media freedom and pluralism, the anti-corruption framework and democratic checks and balances in the EU27 countries and four candidate countries.
It should be noted that Hungary will be the subject of a hearing under the ‘Article 7’ procedure of the EU Treaty at the EU ‘General Affairs’ Council on Tuesday 27 May. On the same day, the EU ‘General Affairs’ Council will discuss the specific situation in another group of four countries (Sweden, Finland, Belgium and Slovakia).
In terms of respect for the Rule of law, the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union intends to build on its own experience by emphasising the role of civil society and the media. By reaffirming certain fundamental values of the EU and complying with European case law on the independence of the judiciary, the ‘Tusk’ government has managed to put an end to the ‘Article 7’ procedure targeting Poland under previous PiS party governments (see EUROPE 13419/20).
POLAND25EU. On Tuesday, the Polish Presidency will present its other priorities for the first half of 2025 in the areas for which the EU ‘General Affairs’ Council is responsible.
Warsaw intends to make progress in the EU enlargement process “both in the Eastern direction and with regard to the Western Balkans”, say the Polish authorities in a document setting out their political priorities. In Warsaw in mid-January, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called for accession negotiations with Ukraine to be accelerated (see EUROPE 13558/1).
Over breakfast, the ministers will discuss Ukraine’s progress towards integration with the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denys Chmyhal, even though the convening of a dedicated Intergovernmental Conference in the first half of the year seems unlikely.
On Monday 17 February, in Warsaw, the Polish Presidency will be organising a conference on the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which will be debated the following day at the informal meeting of ministers for European Affairs. These discussions will provide food for thought for the European Commission, which is due to present its specific proposal before the summer.
Poland will also lead the Member States’ discussions on the conditions that will foster closer ties between the EU and the United Kingdom, particularly in the area of security.
With a view to the June European Council, it will prepare a follow-up report as part of the reflection on the European Union's internal reforms with a view to the next enlargement (see EUROPE 13439/8), bearing in mind that the Commission has been asked to prepare, for the spring, an analysis of the development of European policies affected by the accession of new countries. This will be the case for European Cohesion Policy, which should be the subject of specific conclusions by the EU ‘General Affairs’ Council on Tuesday 18 March.
To see the Polish Presidency programme: https://aeur.eu/f/ewk
To see the provisional agendas for EU Council meetings: https://aeur.eu/f/exk
Any other business. On Tuesday, France will raise the issue of foreign interference in EU elections, while the Czech Republic will stress the importance of continuing the gradual integration of Ukraine and Moldova into the EU Single Market. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic and Mathieu Bion)