On Monday 26 January, the European Affairs Ministers of the EU27 will meet in the ‘General Affairs’ Council to discuss the priorities of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU, the state of the Rule of law in the Member States and the future ‘European Democracy Shield’.
In the evening, they will be invited to Montenegro’s 25th EU accession conference, which will serve to provisionally close negotiations on Chapter 32, i.e. financial control.
Priorities of the Cyprus Presidency. The Deputy Minister for European Affairs, Marilena Raouna, will officially present the work of the next six months at this first formal EU Council of 2026, as well as the Cypriot motto: “An autonomous Union open to the world”.
In particular, this will involve “ensuring a balanced and forward-looking EU budget; driving EU simplification and better regulation agenda to make Europe more competitive and effective; defending and promoting the Union’s fundamental values”, as one diplomat summed up on 23 January.
Annual dialogue on the Rule of law. The Ministers will hold a discussion on the situation in Estonia, Denmark, Greece and Spain.
Their exchanges, which will be based on the European Commission’s annual report - presented on 8 July (see EUROPE 13676/27) - are intended to remain open and non-discriminatory between Member States, based on factual observations and best practices.
For each country concerned, the Commission will present the main conclusions of its national chapter, before the representative of the Member State takes the floor, followed by contributions from the other delegations.
The aim is not only to improve mutual trust between Member States, but also to prevent systemic abuses and consolidate common standards in terms of the independence of the judiciary, the fight against corruption, media pluralism and institutional checks and balances.
In addition, the dialogue is based on a mechanism set up in 2020, which combines horizontal debates on trends in the Rule of law with country-specific discussions, and is regularly integrated into the work of the EU Council.
European Democracy Shield. Over lunch, the Ministers will debate the ‘European Democracy Shield’ (see EUROPE 13789/16), presented by the Commission last November (see EUROPE 13750/4) as part of a ‘democracy package’ to establish a framework to protect and strengthen democracies in the face of hybrid threats, disinformation and foreign interference.
The Cyprus Presidency would like to make progress in this area by means of a “comprehensive” approach, involving the institutions, the Member States and civil society.
Strengthening surveillance and response capacity in the information space, supporting democratic institutions, free elections and independent media, and developing societal resilience and civic engagement are the key issues structuring this ‘Democracy Shield’.
The creation of a European Centre for Democratic Resilience, envisaged as a platform for coordination and information sharing, is one of the main proposals.
The discussions should help to identify priorities and clarify the contribution of the ‘Shield’ in relation to existing schemes, while the measures are to be implemented gradually between now and 2027.
At a time when democratic and security tensions are intensifying both within the EU and beyond its borders, the Cyprus Presidency wishes to bring together issues relating to the defence of ‘values’, the EU’s internal credibility and its geopolitical role.
Montenegro’s accession to the EU. EU enlargement is a priority for the Cyprus Presidency, which is “determined to achieve tangible and credible results for all partners while fully upholding the integrity and credibility and then the rate-based nature of the established enlargement methodology”, added the diplomat. In particular, the Presidency intends to set up an ad hoc working group on Montenegro’s accession.
In December, the country officially closed five other chapters in the accession negotiations at the 24th Intergovernmental Conference, held in Brussels on 16 December. This package includes Chapters 3 (right of establishment and freedom to provide services), 4 (free movement of capital), 6 (company law), 11 (agriculture and rural development) and 13 (fisheries), and brings the total number of chapters closed by the country to 12 (see EUROPE 13774/30).
Breakfast on simplification and better regulation. At an informal breakfast, the Ministers will exchange views on simplification and better regulation with the Chair of the European Parliament's Conference of Committee Chairs, Bernd Lange (S&D, German). (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry et Solenn Paulic)