Meeting of State Secretary Chastel with the Ambassadors of the EU
State Secretary for European Affairs Olivier Chastel updated the Ambassadors of the 26 other Member States and the candidate countries on the priorities and progress of the work carried out by the Belgian presidency.
The month of July has essentially been dedicated to presenting the programme to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, to hearings of the Belgian Ministers before the parliamentary commissions of the European Parliament, to holding several informal councils, and to holding three formal councils (Agriculture, Ecofin and the General Affairs/External Relations Council this 26th July).
Olivier Chastel touched on the subject of the role of the rotating Presidency within the context of the Treaty of Lisbon. “We view the Presidency as a service provided by a country to an institution, the EU Council, for a period of six months,” said the State Secretary. He added, “Our main task will consist in continuing the efforts made to further legislative progress.” Belgium will explore and apply all of the innovations introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon.
“We will ensure complementarity of roles and the development of virtuous cooperation beneficial to the Union,” declared Olivier Chastel with respect to relations between the various European institutions: the Commission, the Council, the Parliament, the President of the European Council, and the High Representative.
