Belgium assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) on 1 January 2024 taking over from Spain which held the presidency for the second half of 2023. This blog:
- explains what the Council of the EU is and how its work is relevant to the Scottish Parliament
- summarises developments during Spain’s presidency in the second half of 2023
- outlines Belgium’s presidency plans and how these may be impacted by European elections.
What is the Council of the EU?
The Council of the EU is an institution of the EU. It is one of the EU’s main decision-making bodies alongside the European Parliament. Its members are ministers of member states’ governments. The Council of the EU’s responsibilities are to:
- negotiate and adopt EU laws
- coordinate member states’ policies
- develop the EU’s common foreign and security policy
- conclude international agreements
- adopt the EU budget.
What is the presidency of the Council of the EU?
The main responsibilities of the presidency of the Council are to:
- maintain continuity of the EU’s agenda
- ensure sound law-making
- facilitate cooperation and coordination between member states and EU institutions.
In practice, the presidency carries out its role by planning and chairing meetings of the sectoral councils across a range of policy areas such as economic and financial affairs, the environment, or foreign affairs. The presidency further represents the Council in dealings with other EU institutions. The presidency’s legislative priorities are informed by the work programme of the European Commission.
The presidency of the Council rotates every six months. Member states work in groups of three (called a ‘trio’) to hold the presidency and set a longer-term programme over 18 months. Each member of the trio then sets a shorter-term programme for its presidency. This system was established by the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009. The current trio comprises Spain, Belgium and Hungary:
- Spain: July-December 2023
- Belgium: January- June 2024
- Hungary: July-December 2024.
The Council and Scotland
Whilst the UK has left the EU, legislative and policy developments in the EU are still of interest to Scotland, due to the Scottish Government’s policy commitment to align with EU law, and the fact that to trade with the EU, Scottish businesses need to comply with EU rules.
In January 2020, the Scottish Government published ‘European Union’s Strategic Agenda 2020-2024: Scotland’s Perspective’ in which it committed to proactively engaging with EU institutions. It stated:
“We will systematically enter into dialogue with each Presidency country on their plans for their term of office and on areas for potential collaboration.”
The Scottish Government published its latest draft Policy of EU Alignment Annual Report 2023 on 31 October 2023.
The Constitution, Europe, External Affairs, and Culture Committee has agreed that it remains important to engage with EU legislative developments. It has commissioned an EU law tracker, which is intended to support the Parliament’s scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s commitment to EU alignment and to provide information on how EU law in areas of devolved competence has evolved following the UK’s departure from the EU. A SPICe blog introducing the tracker provides more detail.
What happened during Spain’s presidency?
Spain held the presidency of the Council of the EU from July to December 2023. A previous SPICe blog explains Spain’s priorities for its presidency.
On 31 December 2023, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez gave a speech in which he summarised the Spanish presidency’s achievements. The Spanish presidency’s website also lists key outcomes of the presidency, including:
- approval of the EU budget for 2024
- decision to
- agreement to reform the EU’s migration and asylum legal framework
- provisional agreement on the proposed Artificial Intelligence Act
- agreement on reform of the electricity market.
The European Parliament debated the outcomes of the Spanish presidency on 13 December 2023.
Belgium’s presidency of the Council of the EU
Belgium’s presidency of the Council of the EU, with the motto ‘Protect, Strengthen, Prepare’, started on 1 January 2024 and will end on 30 June 2024. Prime Minister Alexander de Croo and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib presented the key priorities of the Belgian presidency at an event on 8 December 2023, which can be viewed on Youtube.
The Belgian presidency’s six priorities are:
| Defending rule of law, democracy, and unity In pursuing its first priority, the Belgian presidency states that “Defending the principles of democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights will be an essential element in the work of the Belgian Presidency of the Council.” It also commits to supporting candidate countries wishing to join the EU and prepare the EU for future accessions. Strengthening our competitiveness In relation to its second priority, the Belgian presidency states that “In light of evolving geopolitical realities and the rapid development of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, the EU must prioritise its long-term competitiveness and industrial policies.” As particular areas of focus, the presidency notes the need to enhance economic security, reduce harmful dependencies, and promote technological leadership in critical sectors. Pursuing a green and just transition Under its third priority, the Belgian presidency commits to placing “the energy and climate transition at the heart of its priorities.” Specifically, the Belgian presidency notes the need to enhance the EU’s circular economy and adaptive and preparedness capacities, as well as promote sustainable water management. Reinforcing our social and health agenda In pursuing its fourth priority, the Belgian presidency states its intention to “equip the EU with an ambitious social agenda to foster a European society that is more inclusive, gender-equal and fair for all.” Two key areas of focus are the first implementation of the Social Convergence Framework and the security of medicines supply. Protecting people and borders The focus of the Belgian presidency’s fifth priority is the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, which was agreed in December 2023. In relation to this pact, the Belgian presidency states its intention to “address all remaining legislative files associated with the new European pact on migration and asylum.” The presidency also highlights the future of European security and defence and states that it will seek to explore the possibility of developing a European Defence Industry Strategy. Promoting a global Europe Under its sixth priority, the Belgian presidency states “to achieve its foreign policy goals, the EU must fully mobilise its economic, security and defence capabilities, as well as its development and humanitarian assistance capacity.” In relation to these, the presidency highlights the need to reinforce a rules-based multilateral trading system and plans to promote health care system strengthening. |
Belgium’s programme for its presidency ties into the wider programme of the Spain-Belgium-Hungary trio. The programme sets out detailed plans for the presidency across a range of policy areas, including foreign affairs, economic and financial affairs, and the environment. A Politico article provides an overview of the proposed plans and an assessment of where progress is likely to be made.
How will European elections impact Belgium’s presidency?
The next European Parliament elections will take place in May 2024 and a new European Commission will subsequently be appointed. The Belgian presidency will thus play a role in closing the current European institutions’ five-year mandate. The Belgian presidency programme states that it:
“will ensure a smooth transition to the next institutional cycle. It will help prepare the Strategic Agenda 2024- 2029, in close cooperation with the President of the European Council.”
According to a Deutsche Welle article on the Belgian presidency:
“It’s up to the Belgian presidency to finalize over 100 outstanding legislative projects in the European Union, together with the European Parliament, until the end of April. Among them are efforts to reform asylum processing in the bloc and regulate artificial intelligence.
At the end of April, the European Parliament will meet for its last plenary session before the European elections are held in the first week of June. Any legislative projects that haven’t been completed by then will have to be tackled by the next European Parliament and a newly formed European Commission in the fall.”
The Brussels Times further notes:
“Considering the final European Parliament plenary is scheduled for the end of April, before elections take place in June, the window of opportunity to finalise compromises will start to close by February or March. Pre-agreements will then need to be converted into legislation for approval by the co-legislators (the Parliament and the Council [of the EU]).”
The presidency publishes progress updates on its website.
One significant event that has taken place so far during Belgium’s presidency is a Special European Council meeting on 1 February 2024. At this event, EU leaders discussed mid-term revisions of the multi-annual financial framework 2021-2027, and ‘greenlit’ €50 billion in funding for Ukraine (€17 billion in grants and €33 billion in loans). These revisions are now due to be adopted by the Council of the EU and the European Parliament.
At the last EU summit in December 2023, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban had vetoed a €50 billion aid package for Ukraine. Hungary is due to take over the presidency of the Council of the EU from July 2024.
Annie Bosse, SPICe Research