This Tuesday, October 19, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of European Affairs Sophie Wilmès and her counterparts met in Luxembourg for a General Affairs Council (GAC). This meeting served to tackle the annual dialogue on the rule of law, the Conference on the future of Europe but also to prepare the European Council which will be held at the end of the week.
Annual rule of law dialogue
The ministers discussed the second report of the European Commission on the subject of the rule of law, in which it assesses its respect within the member states. Belgium welcomes the publication of this new report and supports the institution in its intention to formulate concrete recommendations for each Member State as of next year.
The discussion turned to a debate on the judgment delivered by the Polish Constitutional Court on October 7. On behalf of the Benelux, Deputy Prime Minister Wilmès expressed the three countries’ deep concern on this subject.
The Benelux countries join the President of the Commission, Mrs Von der Leyen, who stressed this morning that this judgment undermines the independence of the judiciary, protected in the treaties, and therefore the protection of citizens’ rights. It is also the first time that a constitutional court has ruled that the EU treaties are incompatible with the national constitution.
Sophie Wilmès, on behalf of the three Benelux countries: “This is a very worrying development. With this judgment, the foundations of the European Union and the unity of the European legal order are called into question. However, the latter is of paramount importance in order to guarantee equal rights, legal certainty and mutual trust between the Member States. “
The judgment is currently being analyzed by the European Commission. The Benelux encourages it to share its conclusions with the Member States as well as to clearly state the consequences of non-compliance with European legislation in all relevant areas of European cooperation. It must be the basis of a permanent dialogue.
“From our perspective, swift and decisive action must be taken against systemic threats to the rule of law in several member states. The opening of an infringement procedure in this case is obvious, but insufficient. We therefore also call on the Commission to make use, where appropriate, of the rule of law conditionality regulation as soon as possible and to seriously consider additional measures to address the inherent risks that the deterioration of the rule of law weighs on future disbursements of funds, including during the decision-making process regarding the approval of the recovery and resilience plan. “ said the Benelux.
Preparation of the next European Council
EU ministers for European affairs also prepared for the European Council on 21 and 22 October.
Due to a combination of factors, including rising natural gas prices and rising demand, electricity prices have risen sharply across Europe. Belgium therefore welcomes the series of short and medium term proposals tabled by the European Commission. Member States can apply them at national level to protect vulnerable households and support businesses.
Sophie Wilmès: “For our part, Belgium asks the Commission and the Council to take measures to limit excessive fluctuations in energy prices, by strengthening the one-off and structural measures taken by the federal government last week in order to control the bill. households and businesses. It is important for Europe to help us intervene when energy prices soar, and for a dialogue to be established with third countries on this crucial subject. “
At a time when the pandemic is resuming in a significant part of Europe, our country remains particularly vigilant. Belgium urges all Member States to equip themselves with sufficient capacity for sequencing in order to more quickly detect and monitor new variants. Belgium also advocates greater harmonization in the recognition of vaccination certificates from third countries; and this in order to avoid a patchwork of recognitions. To date, only 13 vaccination certificates have been recognized by the EU.
Our country is also working in favor of universal access to vaccines by assuming its role of facilitator for European donations of the Johnson vaccine, and having already given itself 1.6 million vaccines; figure expected to rise to 4 million by the end of the year. Belgium is also by far the EU’s largest exporter, with 553 million doses of vaccine exported at the start of February 2021, more than half of the EU’s total exports.
Belgium supports progress in discussions on the “Pact on Migration and Asylum”, proposed by the European Commission last year, which includes rules for a more effective return policy, asylum procedures more efficient and a new solidarity mechanism when it comes to the distribution of asylum seekers. Belgium would like priority to be given to certain parts of the Covenant, in particular those concerning border measures.
“Our country reiterated the importance of respecting international law in these border procedures, and mentioned the positive effect of partnerships with countries of origin, which saves lives. The balance between the responsibility of the Member States at the external borders and the solidarity of others is crucial for us. In this spirit, and with full respect for human rights, Belgium recommends strengthening border measures and limiting secondary movements within the EU, but we are also ready to participate in a structural solidarity mechanism. “, explains Sophie Wilmès.
Conference on the future of Europe
Finally, the Council also took stock of the progress of the Conference on the Future of Europe. The ministers were able to explain the activities organized in their respective countries. On October 8, our country kicked off the Belgian section of the Conference.
Sophie Wilmès: “Belgium is sparing no efforts with regard to the Conference on the Future of Europe, convinced that citizens must be able to contribute to shaping this Europe which acts in such an important way in their daily life. Among the initiatives is a citizens’ panel which, starting this week, will work for three weekends on making recommendations on how citizens can be involved in EU decision-making. Belgium is one of the only countries to have a panel of this size. “ One of the citizens of this panel will travel to Strasbourg in December to present the recommendations.
–
