“Relaunch, power, belonging” : this is the motto that France has adopted for its presidency of the Council of the European Union (PFUE). Since Saturday, January 1, 2022, Paris has taken the head of this rotating presidency for six months. A governance that has the heavy task of finding compromises between the 27 member states on several issues.
In order to present the priorities of this presidency, Emmanuel Macron held a press conference on Thursday, December 9. The President of the Republic has defended a reform of the Schengen area, a strengthening of European defense, as well as the holding of a summit between the European Union and Africa.
Thirteen years after the last French presidency of the European Union, Paris must thus chairing the meetings of the Council of the EU. Chance of the calendar, this mission will take place at the same time as major national electoral deadlines in France: the presidential election, in April, then the legislative elections, in June. What can France do in six months and what are the stakes? Can the French political context have an impact? Response elements.
What is the Council of the European Union?
The Council of the EU, also known as the Council of Ministers of the EU, is a major European institution. It is made up of ten thematic training sessions, which bring together the ministers of the 27 Member States leading these files. Among the best known: the agriculture and fishing council, the foreign affairs council or the economic and financial affairs council.
Sharing with the European Parliament the process of “co-decision”, the Council of the EU has the task of negotiating and then adopting the legislative proposals of the European Commission, as well as the EU budget. It coordinates the policies of the 27, particularly in economic and budgetary matters, and designs and then applies EU foreign and security policy.
The Council of the EU differs from the European Council, which brings together the leaders of the Twenty-Seven to provide political impetus and define the priorities of the European Union. Also be careful not to confuse with the Council of Europe, which is not an EU institution, but an international organization of 47 states.
Presiding over the EU, what is it for?
At the head of the EU, France must chair the meetings of the Council’s thematic formations, as well as the work of its preparatory bodies. From January 1 to June 30, 2022, she is also the representative of the Council of the EU to the other community institutions. It is during these six months of “facilitate the development of compromises, so that a certain number of texts reach maturity, be adopted “, underlines Cécile Robert, teacher at Sciences Po Lyon and specialist in European institutions and policies.
“It is a role of placing at the service of the EU. To act so that a certain number of its projects advance and succeed.”
Cécile Robert, specialist in European institutions and policiesto franceinfo
The subjects dealt with during the presidency are taken from the work program of the European Commission. To prepare for the PFUE, France also consulted the Czech Republic and Sweden, the two countries which will succeed it at the head of the Council of the EU, to develop major common objectives. Each country then puts forward its own priorities for six months. On the other hand, in this context, France will not be able to “invent a new subject”, specifies Christine Verger, vice-president of the Jacques Delors Institute.
How is this presidency being prepared?
The organization of the PFUE was launched long before January 1, 2022, because it requires “a preparation time “ therefore, points out Thierry Chopin, professor of political science and president of the independent committee of reflection and proposal for the PFUE. A handover takes place with the previous presidencies, then “There is joint work between the Elysée, Matignon and the Quai d’Orsay to define priorities”.
Comes next “technical work of preparing files”, led in particular by the General Secretariat for European Affairs (SGAE) and the Permanent Representation of France to the EU (RPUE), two bodies which will be very involved in the negotiations during the presidency.
“Diplomats will have to keep in mind the national position on each subject, but also the positions of each state to think about compromise texts.”
Cécile Robert, specialist in European institutions and policiesto franceinfo
Many events – nearly 400, according to the All Europe website – must also be organized in France during this presidency. Summits, conferences, public events … “The idea is to show Europe in the national space, and to show the country on a European scale”, underlines the political scientist.
What will happen during the French presidency?
On January 6 and 7, 2022, Emmanuel Macron will receive all the European Commissioners before speaking to the European Parliament on January 19 or 20 to unveil his roadmap for the PFUE. Thematic summits will be organized by French ministers in different cities, often in their homeland. According to the specialized site Context (subscribers article), a summit on the environment could take place in Amiens, another on health in Grenoble, on Justice in Lille and on the Schengen area in Marseille, around January 21.
On March 10 in Strasbourg, the conclusions of the conference on the future of Europe launched in May 2021 will be unveiled. This public consultation, the idea of which was formulated by Emmanuel Macron in March 2019, aims to allow citizens to express what they expect from the EU.
According to a government source cited by Context (subscribers article), a summit on digital sovereignty will take place in February. The same month, an EU-Africa summit and a summit on the Indo-Pacific should be held, notes Le Parisien (subscribers article). A summit on European defense will also be organized. No precise date has yet been given, but the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has put forward several objectives, such as investing in “common European platforms, from combat aircraft to drones and cyber”.
What projects will France carry out?
From November 2020, the Quai d’Orsay outlined several priorities for the PFUE, in particular on European legislative work “in terms of digital regulation, climate and social ambition “. France will thus work on the Green Pact for Europe, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 1990. Paris will also be keen to advance the directive on minimum wages in the EU, or the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) projects, two parts of a European regulatory framework for large digital platforms.
As the All Europe website underlines, France will also follow the implementation of œimplementation of the European recovery plan and will attempt, among many other subjects, to make progress on the work of European autonomy in the field of defense.
Will she have any real influence during these six months?
At first glance, the political weight of the PFUE is limited since it involves chairing only one of the EU institutions. Nevertheless, “it is obvious that when it comes to a founding country, it is an opportunity to give an impetus that other countries could not have”, estimates Sébastien Maillard, director of the Jacques Delors Institute (a think tank on Europe) on the Euractiv site.
Thus, Germany, which held the presidency in the second half of 2020, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, has invested a lot in the recovery plan of 750 billion euros. “Whereas Germany refused to do so for years, Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Finance Minister Olaf Scholz succeeded in a very short time in convincing their parties and parliamentary groups to accept the idea of a common debt “, underlines a note from the Jean Jaurès Foundation.
The PFUE is also the opportunity for France to influence the agenda or the voting of resolutions, recalls the site All Europe. This was the case during the Portuguese Presidency in the first half of 2021: Lisbon “defended an ambitious agenda on social Europe. It was really a declared strategic objective”, illustrates Thierry Chopin, president of the reflection committee on the challenges of the PFUE.
Moreover, how did the previous French presidencies unfold?
France first took over the Presidency of the Council of the EU in 1959 and has held it twelve times since. The 1995 edition was “relatively calm”, according to Yves Bertoncini, president of the European Movement (association of debates on the EU), on the site All Europe. It was marked by the confirmation of the single currency project or the adoption of the European development fund. But no meeting has taken place in the past seven weeks due to the presidential election in France. “From a large country, we expected more ambitious results”, judged a member of the Commission, quoted by The echoes.
The 2000 PFUE was marked by “quarrels between co-owners”, resumes Yves Bertoncini. “There were Franco-German dissensions between Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schröder”, especially on “the accession of the countries of central Europe and the consequences to be drawn from it”. However, the discussions led to the Treaty of Nice in 2001, which made it possible to modify the institutions to adapt them to the passage from 15 member states to 27.
The 2008 PFUE was chaotic. Shortly before the new Presidency took office, the Irish rejected the Lisbon Treaty. In early August, Russian troops entered South Ossetia, a separatist province of Georgia. “A large part of the PFUE has been dedicated to relations with Russia. What was not on the community agenda has become the major issue”, explains Christine Verger. And to end this year with fanfare, the EU has been hit by the financial and banking crisis linked to the bankruptcy of the American bank Lehmann Brothers.
The presidential election in the middle of this EU presidency, isn’t it embarrassing?
The French presidential election will be held on April 10 and 24, 2022. For Christine Verger, the context of the campaign and the electoral reserve period will imply that the PFUE, “on the political and media level, will be more or less slowed down from March 15”. “On the technical and legislative level, it will be necessary to continue to ensure the files”, explains the vice-president of the Jacques Delors institute.
What will happen after the presidential election, if Emmanuel Macron is not reelected? For Cécile Robert, “there may be transitions at the highest level of institutions” negotiations, “because these are partly political positions”. Nevertheless, the majority of people working within the SGAE, for example, “have no reason to move”, because they are “specialists in European issues”. “There is no need to imagine a big change in these positions.”
I was too lazy to read it all, can you give me a summary ?
France took the head of the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union (PFUE) since January 1, 2022, for a period of six months. The Council of the European Union brings together the ministers of the Member States by sector and represents, with the European Parliament, the legislative institution of the EU. During this period, Paris was responsible for finding compromises between the 27 on specific issues such as the regulation of digital platforms. France may also have to deal with unforeseen events, as was the case during the 2008 PFUE with the war in Georgia.
In addition, the presidential election and the French legislative elections will take place during this presidency. For Christine Verger, vice-president of the Jacques Delors Institute, fruitful negotiations during this PFUE could be “an advantage” for Emmanuel Macron in case of candidacy for his re-election.