On Friday, 18 July, EU countries’ ministers responsible for European affairs will hold an initial discussion on the draft multiannual financial framework (MFF) for the 2028–2034 period (see EUROPE 13682/1) (see other news).
The Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union would like the ministers to give their first impressions of the European Commission’s proposals with a view to guiding the work that will be undertaken at the technical level within the working groups that have already been created. At this stage, these will be general comments made on behalf of Member States that will not focus on the overall budget but rather the stated political priorities and how the future EU budget will work in the medium term.
The Danish authorities are aiming to present national delegations with an initial ‘negotiating box’ by the end of 2025. The goal of reaching a unanimous agreement at the heads-of-state-or-government level by the end of 2026 has even been mentioned.
Regional languages. The General Affairs Council will be given information about a new proposal from Spain aiming to convince the reluctant Member States to grant Catalan, Basque, and Galician official EU language status (see EUROPE 13649/16).
Nevertheless, a formal decision is not expected to be made on Friday.
According to a European source, the best way forward for the Spanish authorities is to “provide answers [to the questions that the reluctant countries are asking] on the legal, budgetary, and practical arrangements”.
Simplification. The ministers are also expected to adopt the ‘omnibus’ simplification text amending the ‘Batteries Regulation’ (see EUROPE 13663/11) once the EU Council and the European Parliament individually decide to green-light the European Commission’s proposal without amending it.
Ukraine. There will be a brief update on the 18th package of European sanctions against Russia that the European Commission proposed on 10 June (see EUROPE 13656/1). Slovakia appears to have lifted its blockade on Thursday evening, paving the way for a rapid adoption of the sanctions. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion with Léa Marchal and Camille-Cerise Gessant)