Belgium replaced Spain on Monday (January 1) and assumes the rotating presidency of the European Union in the first half of the year. This will be shaped by the European elections, which will take place from 6 to 9 June.
The European elections coincide with the Belgian parliamentary and local elections. This could lead to distractions during the Council Presidency, admitted a few days ago the Belgian ambassador to the EU, Willem Van den Voorde.
“Of course there will be some disruption because we are all human, but I’m not too worried about it. There may be a little distraction, but the essential tasks will be carried out,” he said in a meeting with journalists.
However, with the new budgetary rules and the migration agreement agreed just before Christmas under the Spanish Presidency, Belgium will not have to deal with any major legislative projects. However, it will have to deal with Hungary's veto on Ukraine.
Hungary and Ukraine
Specifically, the objective is to circumvent Hungary's veto against the new €50 billion aid package for Ukraine between 2024 and 2027 and against the increase in the EU budget for this period. The approval of Viktor Orbán's ultranationalist government is conditional on the release by Brussels of the 21 billion euros frozen for Budapest due to deficiencies in its rule of law.
European leaders will meet for an extraordinary summit on February 1st. They will try to persuade Orbán to join the agreement on the aid package for Ukraine, which the other 26 EU countries have already adopted unanimously.
Furthermore, Belgium must get Hungary to officially agree to start accession negotiations with Ukraine in March. This requirement remains in force, despite Orbán temporarily leaving the room in December, when the other leaders made the political decision to start conversations.
Ratification of agreements
At an economic level, one of the most urgent tasks of the Belgian Presidency will be to negotiate the final text of the budgetary rules with the European Parliament. The EU's 27 Member States had previously agreed to give countries more leeway in choosing the pace at which they would reduce their deficits and debts. Furthermore, countries should have more leeway to invest and safeguard clauses should be established to ensure that no one can postpone adjustments.
Discussions are expected to begin in January and an agreement is sought before the end of the legislative session. The rules should come into force in 2024 and may be fully applied to the 2025 budgets.
The law on artificial intelligence must also be ratified during the Belgian Presidency. European institutions agreed on the law three weeks ago, but the technical details still need to be finalized.
In the area of climate policy, the Belgian Presidency will, above all, have to ensure that the agreements already reached on the reform of the electricity market are formally adopted and pave the way for the next steps in the energy transition.
The European Commission will propose an EU carbon reduction target for 2040 at the start of the year, which must be confirmed by the EU's 27 member states. It will also focus on the implementation of the numerous legislation adopted during the mandate, as well as support for the wind energy sector, the expansion of electrical networks and the development of the hydrogen bank.
However, there are still some controversial dossiers pending in this area, such as final negotiations on legislation to reduce packaging waste and new air quality standards.
Belgium will also inherit an issue that interests Spain, namely the official status of the Catalan, Basque and Galician languages in the EU.
Belgian diplomatic circles told EFE that the Belgian Presidency will continue the legal, political and practical analysis of the measure, in order to dispel doubts among Member States. Ministers would return to the matter “if necessary”.
Belgium will also be responsible for promoting an agreement between countries on the rules that regulate new genetic techniques for editing plant genomes – a topic of great interest to Spain.
[Bearbeitet von Sandra Municio]