General Affairs Council, 16/09/2019, 16 September 2019

Main results

Strengthening the rule of law in the EU

The Council held a policy debate on enhancing respect for the rule of law in the EU.

On the basis of a presidency background paper, ministers discussed how the Council could contribute to the overall aim of strengthening the rule of law in the EU, and what specific measures could be used.

The debate took place against the backdrop of a forthcoming review of the Council's annual rule of law dialogue, which is scheduled to take place at the General Affairs Council meeting in November. It built upon discussions on a peer review mechanism, as well as the Commission communication of 17 July in which the Commission proposed, among other things, to set up a Rule of Law Review Cycle covering all the EU member states.

During the debate, a number of ministers expressed their support for developing a preventive mechanism for monitoring the rule of law situation in all the EU member states. Several participants stressed that any such mechanism would need to be inclusive and objective, ensuring that all member states are treated in an equal manner. In addition, it was important to respect the division of competences under the treaties and to avoid duplication for any mechanisms chosen.

The presidency will now send a questionnaire to all member states. The results of this questionnaire will feed into the evaluation of the Council's rule of law dialogue at the General Affairs Council meeting in November.

• Enhancing respect for the rule of law in the Union - presidency discussion paper
• Commission communication on strengthening the rule of law within the Union - A blueprint for action

Today's Council meeting provided the chance for all my colleagues from across the EU to exchange ideas about promoting and safeguarding the rule of law. It is important that we deal with all aspects of the debate in a constructive spirit. The planned review of the Council's annual rule of law dialogue offers us a timely opportunity to explore, in very practical terms, what member states could do together to contribute to these efforts. Tytti Tuppurainen, Minister for European affairs of Finland

October European Council

Ministers started preparations for the European Council meeting of 17-18 October by examining an annotated draft agenda. 

At their meeting in October, leaders are expected to have a substantive discussion on the next multiannual financial framework (MFF) on the basis of the work of the presidency. Leaders will also discuss the follow-up to the Strategic Agenda 2019-2024 for the Union.

Depending on the timetable of the European Parliament, the European Council may adopt the decisions on the appointment of the new ECB President and the new European Commission.

In the light of events, the European Council may also address specific foreign policy issues.

• European Council, 17-18 October 2019

Next multiannual financial framework

The Council took stock of the work on the MFF for 2021-2027.

The presidency sent out a questionnaire to all delegations over the summer and conducted bilateral meetings in early September to identify member states' priorities and main concerns. On this basis, it will draft a paper as presidency input in the preparations for the exchange of views at the October European Council.

Following guidance from the leaders, the presidency plans to present a revised Negotiating Box with figures before the end of the year, in order to prepare for the next stages of the negotiations.

In parallel, work will continue on the various sectoral proposals to make further progress on Council mandates or conclude additional 'common understandings' with the European Parliament.

Respect for EU values in Hungary

The Council held a hearing under the Article 7(1) TEU procedure concerning Hungary.

The hearing covered all the issues raised in the European Parliament's reasoned proposal. It enabled ministers to have a more in-depth exchange with Hungary on the key concerns identified by the Parliament.

The presidency closed the hearing by presenting procedural conclusions. In line with the standard modalities for hearings, no assessment on the substance of the issues is included at this stage.

Other items

Under any other business, the presidency briefed ministers on the main takeaways from the Conference on Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights hosted by the Finnish presidency in Helsinki on 10-11 September.

• Conference on Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights, Helsinki, 10-11 September

The Commission updated ministers on the developments regarding the rule of law in Poland following the meeting of the General Affairs Council in July.