Hungary assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) on 1 July 2024 taking over from Belgium which held the presidency for the first half of 2024. This blog:
- explains what the Council of the EU is and how its work is relevant to the Scottish Parliament
- summarises developments during Belgium’s presidency in the first half of 2024
- outlines Hungary’s presidency plans and discusses how relationships between Hungary and other Member States may shape Hungary’s presidency.
You can use the headings below to navigate the blog.
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 of the EU 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 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 relevant EU rules.
The UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 (‘the Continuity Act’) confers a power on Scottish Ministers to allow them to make regulations (secondary legislation) with the effect of continuing to keep Scots law aligned with EU law in some areas of devolved policy (the ‘keeping pace’ power). You can read the Scottish Government’s Continuity Act Annual report 2023-24, laid on 6 February 2024, to find out more about the use and intended use of the keeping pace power.
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 the 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 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 Belgium’s presidency?
Belgium held the presidency of the Council of the EU from 1 January to 30 June 2024. A previous SPICe blog set out Belgium’s priorities for its presidency. The Belgian presidency was significant because it coincided with the end of the European Parliament’s mandate ahead of the European Parliament elections in June. As a result, a key aim was to finalise a number of legislative initiatives ahead of the elections. The Belgian presidency’s website provides a lists of key outcomes of the presidency, including progress on significant pieces of legislative work, such as:
- progressing the EU’s enlargement process by obtaining Council approval of the Negotiating Frameworks for Ukraine and Moldova
- reaching agreement on the review of the Union’s economic governance and of the Multi-annual Financial Framework 2021-2027
- finalising the adoption of the Net-Zero Industry Act
- finalising and adopting the Pact on Asylum and Migration and beginning the processes that will enable the implementation of the Pact over the next two years.
The Belgian presidency’s website also highlights Belgium’s role in securing aid to Ukraine, including reaching agreement on the Ukraine Facility, a four-year financial support package worth €50 billion and adopting the Implementing Decision on the Ukraine Plan, which will guide the reconstruction and modernisation of Ukraine.
Hungary’s priorities
Hungary’s presidency of the Council of the EU runs from 1 July 2024 to 31 December 2024. The presidency takes place at the conclusion of the European Commission mandate of Ursula von der Leyen and during the approval process of a new College of Commissioners – more information on this is provided below. As a result, legislative developments during the Hungarian presidency are likely to be limited.
On 18 June, János Bóka, Minister of European Union Affairs, and Zoltán Kovács, Government Commissioner for the Hungarian presidency, presented the presidency’s programme and unveiled its motto: “Make Europe Great Again”.
The Hungarian presidency will be organised around seven priorities:
| New European Competitiveness Deal The presidency states that Europe lags behind its global competitors and sets out its aim to: “contribute to the development of a technology-neutral industrial strategy, a framework for boosting European productivity, an open economy and international economic cooperation, as well as a flexible labour market that creates secure jobs and offers rising wages in Europe, which is a crucial factor to growth and competitiveness.” Reinforcement of the European defence policy In relation to defence, the presidency states that the EU needs to strengthen its resilience and capacity to act. Consequently, it sets out plans to focus on strengthening the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base, including defence innovation and the enhancement of defence procurement cooperation between Member States. A consistent and merit-based enlargement policy The presidency states that “Enlargement is one of the most successful policies of the European Union” but that it is “essential to keep enlargement policy merit-based, balanced and credible.” It emphasises the need to ensure a European perspective for the Western Balkans and does not mention Ukraine within the context of EU enlargement. Stemming illegal migration The presidency emphasises the importance of addressing migratory pressures, especially their effects on Member States with external EU borders. The presidency states that its focus will include closer cooperation with countries bordering the EU, key countries of origin and transit. The presidency will focus on tackling illegal migration and human smuggling and states that it will “pay particular attention to [..] efficient cooperation with relevant third countries, more effective returns, and innovative solutions for rules on asylum.” Shaping the future of the cohesion policy Under this heading, the presidency notes the importance of reducing regional disparities within the EU in the context of significant development gaps between Member States and even within regions. In terms of addressing these disparities, the presidency states that it will aim for a “high-level strategic debate on the future of cohesion policy, including its role in promoting competitiveness and employment, as well as in addressing demographic challenges.” A farmer-oriented EU agricultural policy The presidency draws attention to challenges affecting farmers in Europe. Its position is to “view agriculture not as a cause of climate change, but as part of the solution, by engaging farmers in adopting more sustainable production practices.” In light of this, the presidency plans to shape the new Commission’s approach to agricultural policy. Addressing demographic challenges Under this heading, the presidency states that demographic challenges need urgent attention as they affect the competitiveness of the EU and sustainability of public finances. To address this, the presidency plans to highlight these challenges and make use of the European Commission’s demographic toolbox, launched in 2023. |
In addition to the presidency priorities, the wider presidency programme also contains information about the presidency’s approach to UK-EU relations. It notes the importance of the correct and timely implementation of the existing agreements and states that the Hungarian presidency will:
strive to preserve the unity among Member States and will pay particular attention to safeguarding the rights of citizens under the Withdrawal Agreement and to the implementation of the Windsor Framework.
On 12 July 2024, the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, Angus Robertson MSP, wrote to Hungary’s Foreign Minister, Péter Szijjártó, in relation to the Hungarian presidency. The letter highlights two areas in which the Scottish Government is particularly supportive of the presidency’s priorities: strengthening the EU’s industrial base “in line with the accelerated twin green and digital transitions, and making use of innovation” and the presidency’s focus on the climate and energy transition.
Relationship between Hungary and other EU Member States
The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been at odds with the EU’s policy direction in numerous policy areas over recent years alongside a number of alleged breaches of EU law in areas such as equal rights, the right to asylum, and concerns about corruption and judicial independence. These differences are likely to surface (and some have already become apparent) over the course of Hungary’s presidency.
One particularly significant area in which approaches diverge is the response to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Hungary has repeatedly frustrated attempts by the EU to pass sanctions against Russia and blocked military aid to Ukraine. These actions led to the then holder of the presidency, Belgium, calling for Hungary’s voting rights on EU decisions to be suspended, in June 2024.
It is worth noting that the EU progressed a number of sensitive areas of work just before the start of Hungary’s presidency. This included opening accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova, pushing through a sanctions package against Russia, and agreeing €50bn of aid for Ukraine.
Some commentators have noted that the timing of Hungary’s presidency may mean that the differences in viewpoints between Hungary and other Member States turn out to be less disruptive than they could be.
Following European Parliament elections in June 2024, the process of determining the make-up of the new European Commission is currently underway. The Commission develops the EU’s overall strategy and political direction over a five-year term. Ursula von der Leyen was re-elected as President of the European Commission on 18 July 2024 by the European Parliament. The allocation of the remaining Commissioner posts and extensive vetting process will take place over the coming months with the new Commission not expected to take office until November 2024. Further background on this process is provided in a SPICe blog on the European Parliament elections 2024. A Politico article on the beginning of Hungary’s presidency notes:
By the time the new Commission actually puts forward any legislative proposals for the member countries to get their teeth into, the Hungarian presidency will be almost over.
Despite this, the anticipated tensions between Hungary and other Member States have already emerged during the presidency’s first month. In the first week of the presidency, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited Kyiv and Moscow, as part of what he called a “peace-mission”.
Orbán’s trip to Russia, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, was met with condemnation in Brussels. European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen described the trip to Russia as “nothing but an appeasement mission”. Several Member States geographically close to Russia – Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland – announced that they would not be sending Ministers to informal meetings linked to Hungary’s EU presidency during July in protest. On 15 July, the European Commission stated that the Commission will be represented at senior civil servant level only during informal meetings of the Council. However, formal meetings will not be affected and a schedule is provided on the Hungarian presidency’s webpage. The Commission also announced that the traditional visit of the College of Commissioners to the capital of the country holding the presidency would not take place. On 23 July, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borell, further announced that, a meeting of Member States’ Foreign and Defence Ministers, which was supposed to be held in Budapest on 28-30 August, would instead be held in Brussels.
It remains to be seen how the fallout from Orbán’s visit to Russia develops, to what extent it affects the operation of the Council of the EU, and what will be accomplished during Hungary’s presidency.
Annie Bosse, SPICe Research