Share
01 January 2020 Brexit, which should become reality on January 31, and the EU's multi-year budget (MFF in jargon) for 2021-27. These are the two main challenges that Croatia will face for six months starting today, the day on which it will take over for the first time the presidency of the EU Council, which is held by the Member States in turn. Zagreb, which declared independence from Yugoslavia on May 25, 1991, has been a member of the European Union since 2013; he comes to the presidency after Finland (second half of 2019) and before Germany (second half of 2020).The presidency is responsible for the functioning of the EU Council, co-legislator of the Union together with Parliament (the legislative initiative is up to the Commission). Since October 2016, Croatia has been run by a government led by Andrej Plenković, from the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union), the country's largest party with 55 seats in Sabor, in coalition with the HNS (Liberal Democrats). The priorities of the Croatian presidency for the first half of 2020, explains the European Parliament's Study Service in a dedicated briefing, are grouped under four headings: a developing Europe; a Europe that connects; a Europe that protects; an influential Europe.
The main challenges for the EU in the next half-year will be Brexit and the 2021-27 multiannual financial framework (Multiannual Financial Framework, Mff). As regards the MFF, the total amount has yet to be set: the Finnish Presidency has proposed a total amount of 1,087 billion euros, 1.07% of the Gross National Income, a figure lower than that proposed by the Commission; In response, Parliament has communicated that it will suspend the negotiations until the States make a proposal appropriate to the challenges facing the EU.
The House, said President David Sassoli, is unwilling to accept "a budget that cannot fulfill the promises made to EU citizens". Finding an agreement on the MFF was also complicated due to the troubled appointment and installation procedure of the von der Leyen Commission, as well as because of the Brexit, which took up a lot of time and energy. Now that the House of Commons has given the go-ahead to the withdrawal agreement, it is foreseeable that, after the United Kingdom's exit on 31 January, the EU-wide political landscape will be dominated by negotiations on the future relationship between the Union and Britain, which are expected to end by the end of 2020.
There is very little time available to close a trade deal (typically takes years), so bilateral negotiations are likely to continue to take up a lot of time and energy, as has been the case over the past three years.
As regards the first priority of the Croatian presidency, a developing Europe , there are several legislative files that could occupy the agenda, some of which are related to the MFF, such as the reform support program and the European stabilization function of investments.
Among others, there is the framework for the creation of Sbbs (Sovereign Bond-Backed Securities), a sort of government bond sausage title, intended as a substitute for the safe asset, and also the European Deposit Insurance Scheme ), the European deposit insurance scheme, advocated by Italy and other countries. Freeze for years because of the contrast between the Nordic and Mediterranean states, Edis has recently seen an evolution on the German side: Finance Minister Olaf Scholz has opened the roadmap for a political discussion on the creation of the Edis, but tying it to the introduction of weighting mechanisms for government bonds in banks' balance sheets.
Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri rejected the link, contrary to national interests, but French counterpart Bruno Le Maire welcomed the German opening, hoping for a continuation of the dialogue. It will be seen whether these movements will lead to one of the missing pillars of the banking union or not. Always under the first priority, heavy dossiers, such as the CAP, the Common Agricultural Policy, for 2021-27, and the Horizon Europe program for 2021-27 should arrive on the table of ministers.
The Blue Card directive, aimed at encouraging the entry of scientists and researchers into the EU, is always suspended; the proposal is blocked due to difficulties in harmonizing with national schemes which aim to encourage the immigration of highly skilled labor. The first priority also includes the legislative proposals that the Commission will make under the Green Deal.
The second priority, a connecting Europe , includes the creation of a European transport area (there is not yet, especially in the railway sector and road transport, divided nationally), an integrated energy market and quality data infrastructures.
Some pending legislative proposals could be negotiated during the Croatian Presidency, such as the payment of tolls for heavy goods vehicles (Eurovignette), the transport of goods between Member States and the further opening of national bus transport markets. The Croatian Presidency also aims to strengthen mobility for students and researchers: in this regard, negotiations on the Erasmus program for 2021-27, as well as on the Creative Europe program, should advance.
For the third priority, internal security , the Croatian presidency will focus on the control of external borders, on the interoperability of IT systems and on strengthening defenses against cyber threats. Among the most important legislative dossiers in this area is the directive on the returns of third-country nationals illegally residing in the EU, the prevention of the spread of terrorist content online and the European security fund 2021-27.
The whole chapter of the reform of the European asylum system and the management of migratory flows falls under this priority, on which the co-legislators, Parliament and Council, have not yet finished their work. The main issue remains the revision of the Dublin system, which establishes which Member States are responsible for examining a request for international protection.
The current system attributes this responsibility, and the relative charges, to the countries of first arrival; the migration crisis of 2015 put the system to the test and since then attempts have been unsuccessfully to find a way to reform legislation which, in the face of the crisis triggered by the Arab Springs and the civil war in Syria, has proved to be largely deficient.
This legislative file prevents the conclusion of the other texts of the package, that is, among others, the creation of the EU Agency for Asylum (currently there is an Office, Easo), the standards for the reception of applicants international protection, the common procedure for international protection in the EU, the EU framework for resettlement.
For the fourth priority, an influential Europe , the Croatian presidency considers enlargement policy essential: precisely for this reason it organized an EU-Western Balkans summit in Zagreb in May. On this front, the European Council, which brings together heads of state and government, has promised to discuss enlargement again, after it did not approve the start of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia in December. mainly due to the opposition of France.
As regards relations with third countries, trade agreements with Vietnam and Mercosur, the free trade area of South America which includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay (Venezuela is also part of it, are approaching closure). has been suspended). The agreement with Hanoi is expected to be approved by the European Parliament's Inta (International Trade) commission in January, to be approved in plenary in February.
The agreement with Mercosur should instead arrive in Parliament around mid 2020. On the issues of security and defense, negotiations on the European Defense Fund 2021-27 will be important. Work on the Conference on the Future of Europe, proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron last June, supported by Merkel and included by von der Leyen in his keynote speech, should also intensify during the Croatian presidency.
In reality, the idea of organizing a Conference on the future of Europe precedes, and by far, Macron's proposal: already in December 2018 the president of the European Committee of the Regions Karl Heinz Lambertz and Cese Luca Jahier insisted on creating "a consultation permanent structured with citizens, cities, regions and civil society organizations ". The conference, which will be organized by Parliament, the Council and the Commission, is expected to begin operating next year and continue for two years; it should also involve European citizens, to give them the opportunity to help shape the future of the EU. For the presidency, Macron named the Belgian liberal Guy Verhofstadt.