Europese Raad bezig met voorbereidingen GAC (en)

Draft conclusions for the upcoming European Council meeting of October 18-19 were the main focus of the General Affairs Council (GAC) meeting, which took place today, 16 October, in Luxembourg. During the meeting, which was chaired by Cyprus’ Deputy Minister for EU Affairs, Ambassador Andreas D. Mavroyiannis, ministers exchanged views on the Economic and Monetary Union’s (EMU i) interim report. The interim report is expected to be at the heart of discussions at the October European Council. EU Affairs Ministers also examined the annotated draft agenda for the special November European Council, which will focus solely on the Multiannual Financial Framework that constitutes a top priority for the Cyprus Presidency. Earlier today, the GAC agreed on a third partial general approach on certain elements of the Cohesion Policy’s legislative package for 2014-2020.

During the GAC meeting, ministers examined draft conclusions for the October meeting of the European Council (EC i) which were prepared by President Van Rompuy in cooperation with the Cyprus Presidency and the European Commission.

The preparations of the EC’s October meeting was the subject of discussions during lunch, with the video-link participation of Mr. Van Rompuy. The draft conclusions for the European Council cover the review of the implementation of the Compact for Growth and Jobs and outline the progress achieved on the recent proposals on a single supervisory mechanism and the EU's relations with its strategic partners. Emphasis was also given to the interim report on the EMU’s further development which was issued on October 12, by Mr. Van Rompuy, in close collaboration with the Commission, the Eurogroup and the European Central Bank.

The Cyprus Presidency also presented its report on the implementation of all ongoing tasks arising from European Council orientations which are due to be completed in the coming months.

“We have recently taken a number of commitments and the EC has set out a number of orientations for priority action, in order to support growth and to respond adequately to the challenges currently facing us,” stated Deputy Minister Mavroyiannis in his comments on the Cyprus Presidency report.

During the GAC meeting, EU ministers also examined the draft annotated agenda for the upcoming special European Council in November 22-23, which will focus exclusively on the aim of reaching an agreement on the negotiations for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) of 2014-2020.

Ambassador Mavroyiannis also informed his counterparts on the recent adoption of ‘the Limassol Declaration’, which concerns a Marine and Maritime Agenda for growth and jobs, and constitutes one of the Cyprus Presidency’s key initiatives.

Prior to the GAC meeting, an informal ministerial breakfast took place concerning the MFF, which was also attended by the European Parliament’s negotiating team and members of the Cabinet of President Van Rompuy. Commenting on the discussions during the informal meeting, Ambassador Mavroyiannis said that “they allowed the participants to improve their mutual understanding of their respective positions on the MFF’, while he added that “the meeting provided the Presidency with valuable input with a view of reviewing the Negotiating Box, before the end of the month.”

“The content of the proposal will continue to be amended, it is and will remain until the last minute, work in progress to reflect constant osmosis between work done at various institutional levels and fora, in order to facilitate an agreement at the Extraordinary European November Council,” Ambassador Mavroyiannis concluded.

Earlier today, the General Affairs Council agreed on a partial general approach on elements of the Cohesion Policy package for 2014-2020. The finalization of the agreement on the Cohesion Policy rules is a priority for the Cyprus Presidency, since this policy constitutes an effective tool for promoting growth and jobs in the EU.