Vanackere takes interim stock of the Presidency
In a few days we will be exactly halfway through the Belgian EU Presidency. Steven Vanackere took stock at the Belgian Federal Parliament on 28 September. “It’s not going badly at all; we’ve already achieved some good results during the past three months”. Below is an update on the six dossiers from the Councils he chairs.
Minister Vanackere proceeded on the Presidency’s favourable cooperation with the European bodies and players. He emphasised the key role of the European Parliament in SWIFT and in the negotiations on the foundation of the European External Action Service. He also emphasised the excellent cooperation with Permanent Chairman Herman Van Rompuy, High Representative Cathy Ashton and the European Commission.
Mr Vanackere also briefly covered the items on the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council during the past few months: from the situation in Sudan and the peace process in the Middle East to the approval of the UN Security Council’s resolution concerning the sanctions against Iran and the EU’s relations with its strategic partners such as China.
Mr Vanackere then gave a brief overview of the current situation and perspectives on six major dossiers.
He first mentioned the European External Action Service (EEAS), one of the main innovations of the Treaty of Lisbon. The Presidency has the major responsibility of ensuring a fast start-up of this European diplomatic service. Its actual materialisation can, however, not take place until the Parliament approves three legislative instruments concerning budgetary autonomy, the status of European diplomats and the 2010 budget.
He then talked about the European Citizens’ Initiative, one of the most visible results of the Treaty of Lisbon. Thanks to this initiative, citizens may request that the Commission introduce legislative proposals on specific matters, if there are at least one million signers, originating from a significant number of Member States. Fine tuning is taking place now; the dossier is currently being reviewed in the European Parliament. Mr Vanackere hopes to finalise this dossier during the Belgian presidency.
He also mentioned the Budget Review, that is, the EU budget assessment by the Commission expected early October. With this result in hand, he can commence the Presidency with the development of a proposal for the next long-range 2014-2020 estimate. It promises to be a tough but important exercise, as the current budget financing is not sustainable. The Presidency faces two challenges: achieving a balance between the institutions this autumn and ensuring that this exercise does not influence the discussion on the 2011 budget.
The Europe 2020 strategy is synonymous with specific action in five policy areas: the employment rate, research and development, the green economy, education and social inclusion. The Presidency is responsible for fleshing out these areas on a European and a national level. On a European level, attention will be paid to the so-called Flagship Initiatives that flesh out the strategy. Six of the seven have already been proposed during the Presidency or will be proposed this autumn. The conversion of the Strategy into national policy objectives will be done through bilateral talks between the Commission and the Member States. The General Affairs Council chaired by Mr Vanackere guarantees the coordination of 2020 strategy operations in the various joint committees.
Mr Vanackere also talked about the enlargement of the Union that will be discussed at the General Affairs Council in December. As the chairperson of this Council, he expressed his satisfaction with the official start of the accession negotiations with Iceland. He expressed his enthusiasm about the official start of the accession negotiations with Iceland. He also called on Turkey and Cyprus. This was one of the proactive actions he took to prevent the accession negotiations planned for December from coming to a dead end. The negotiations with Croatia are going well, even though some major aspects still need to be discussed. In December, the Council will also respond to the application for accession of Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Finally, he mentioned the Union’s international trade policy. Several years ago, the EU began negotiations on a new generation of Free Trade Agreements. With this, it wants to reinforce its presence on upcoming growth markets. Various negotiations are currently under way and the Presidency has already achieved its first major success: the approval of a free trade agreement between the EU and South Korea. Negotiations on a free trade agreement with Malaysia will probably begin soon.
