01/01/2024 00:05 (current 01/01/2024 00:10)
Belgium assumes the presidency of the EU Council, Italy assumes the presidency of the G7 ©APA/THEMENBILD
Belgium assumed the presidency of the EU Council on Monday for six months. Until Sunday, Spain held the rotating presidency among the 27 member states. The functions of the Council Presidency include, among other things, organizing and directing meetings and preparing compromise proposals in case of problems between members or institutions. Also on Monday, Italy assumed the presidency of the G7 group of important industrialized nations from Japan.
In the coming weeks, the new Presidency of the EU Council will have to clarify questions about the EU's long-term budget and the financing of further aid to Ukraine, for example. During the Spanish presidency of the EU Council, which ended on New Year's Eve, there was no agreement on this issue as initially anticipated. Belgium wants to give its own impetus to, among other things, the discussion on EU reforms. Reforms are necessary to maintain a functional EU, strengthen its unity and increase its capacity to act, the government announced when it assumed the Presidency of the EU Council. The presidency is considered particularly challenging for Belgium due to June's European elections. This is likely to mean that the months leading up to the crisis will be dominated by election campaigns. Furthermore, Belgium will elect a new parliament at the same time as the European elections.
The G7 includes the USA, Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and Canada. The G7 is not an international organization, but an informal forum of heads of state and government. At their annual summits, they agree on common positions on global political issues.