The new presidency: an “EU joint team”
Every six months a different Member State takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. On 1 July 2010 it was Belgium’s turn. Belgium’s twelfth presidency is particularly important and differs from all its former presidencies: it is fully operating under the Lisbon treaty and, for the first time, the Belgians are part of a ‘triple presidency’. Spain, Belgium and Hungary will coordinate their activities in this role. The triple presidency began with Spain’s six-month term and will be concluded by Hungary, which will take over from Belgium in January 2011. All this makes the Belgian presidency the first non-traditional rotating presidency or rather the first ‘EU joint team’.
The Council of the European Union is a single body, but for reasons relating to the organisation of its work, it meets − according to the subject being discussed − in different ’configurations’, which are attended by ministers from the Member States and European Commissioners responsible for the areas concerned. Belgian experts now chair the working groups that prepare the various Councils of Ministers. The presidency plays an essential role in organising the work of the institution, particularly in promoting legislative and political decisions. It is responsible for organising and chairing all meetings, including the many working groups and for brokering compromises.
Since the Lisbon treaty came into force on 1 December 2009, the European Council has got a greater say over police and justice planning, foreign policy and constitutional matters including the composition of the parliament and the commission, for matters relating to the rotating presidency, for the suspension of membership rights, for changing the voting systems in the treaties bridging clauses and in particular for the nomination of the President of the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. This means that the Member State holding the presidency is responsible for external representation of the foreign and security policy, but in this role it is assisted by the High Representative appointed to serve for two and a half years. The new High Representative, also become Vice-President of the Commission and administrator of the European Defence Agency but not Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, which remains a separate post held today by Pierre de Boissieu.
Besides carrying out tasks such as organising and conducting meetings with bodies involved in preparatory activities, the council also seeks solutions and compromises between the Member States and with the other European Union institutions. The Member State holding the presidency also has a duty to prepare a programme of priorities for the next six months, even though European activities are not generally concluded within such a short space of time. The Belgian presidency therefore, has to continue work on on-going initiatives or the ‘rolling agenda’.
To provide continuity and working in tandem with the eighteen-month common programme (January 2010 and June 2011) elaborated together with with Spain and Hungary, Belgium has set out its own priorities which it will pursue throughout its presidency.
Human rights as a major priority
Belgium's federal, regional and community governments have jointly decided their priorities for the country's EU presidency. On the one hand, work will continue on a number of issues determined by the European agenda and, on the other, Belgium has laid down its own areas of interest.
The Belgian programme focuses on five principal components:
• a socioeconomic component that aims to foster sustained and sustainable growth and competitiveness;
• a social component that aims to promote social cohesion;
• an environmental component that aims to support the transition to a low-carbon (‘green’) economy;
• a freedom, security and justice component (the Stockholm Programme 2010-2014) that aims to consolidate and complete European Union policy on justice, home affairs, asylum and migration;
• an external action component that aims to consolidate the European Union's role as a force for global peace and security.
These aspects are further developed in 13 thematic chapters that address specific priorities.
Human rights are also mentioned within the main objectives of the common work programme. The defence of human rights in the world has been one of the EU’s primary concerns for many years. The EU has pushed for human rights issues of common concern and interest and for the mainstreaming of these concerns in all its policies and programmes. One good example is provided in the conclusions of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion that lays down lessons for the future. As a result, it has been proposed that the council should adopt conclusions related to child poverty, universal access to quality healthcare, homelessness and the prevention of poverty.
Another important focus is on violence against women. The council will also adopt conclusions related to the new strategy on equality between men and women (2011-2015) as well as those concerning the equal pay of men and women within the context of the implementation of the Beijing action plan (UN Conference 1995). In parallel, they plan to continue working on the implementation of the principle of equality of treatment of individuals without distinction of religion, disability, age or sexual orientation.
A conference on disability, notably the coordination and implementation of the UN Convention on disability, took place on 18-19 October 2010.
An additional aim for the current presidency is to broaden the social agenda by addressing young people, combating gender discrimination and fighting poverty.
To accomplish these aims, it is important to make the EU an area of ever greater freedom, safety and justice that will be a step towards a European policy for immigration and asylum, with a uniform asylum procedure and standardised international protection. This would also help combat terrorism, organised crime, illegal immigration and human trafficking and establish mutual recognition of court rulings. Finally, the presidency is dealing with the establishment of the new European External Action Service (EEAS).
This agenda shows that the presidency places great emphasis on the defence and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
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Table of Contents
The new presidency: an “EU joint team”
Human rights as a major priority
Action areas
COHOM’s Programme
Conclusions
Roberta Dirosa was born in Catania, Italy on 14 April 1983. She studied International Relations at the Sorbonne University, Paris and the University of Florence, Italy where she graduated in 2007. She continued her studies of International Relations and Human Rights at the University of Bologna where she obtained her Master degree in 2009. Roberta Dirosa has been working at the Interdepartmental Centre for Research in European Union Law in Bologna for two years. In 2010 she successfully completed an internship in the Human Rights Unit at the European Parliament where she played an active role. Publications include: “Aung San Suu Kyi and the non violent struggle for human rights in Burma” and “Human Rights between Universalism and Relativism: Female genital mutilation”. Roberta Dirosa will continue her career at EuropeAid, the Directorate-General of the European Commission which is responsible for implementing external aid programmes and projects across the world.
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This article reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.