General Affairs Council, 19 March 2024

Main results

March European Council

Ministers continued preparations for the European Council meeting on 21 and 22 March 2024 by discussing draft conclusions.

At their upcoming meeting, EU leaders will address:

• EU’s continued support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s war of aggression
• security and defence
• the situation in the Middle East
• enlargement and reforms
• external relations
• migration
• current challenges in the agricultural sector
• European Semester

• European Council, 21-22 March 2024

Future of Europe

Ministers exchanged views on EU internal reforms and improvements to the EU’s working methods that should ensure the EU’s capacity to act, including in view of EU enlargement.

The discussion focused on internal reforms related to EU policies and the related communication aspects. Ministers stressed the importance of a thorough analysis of the different policies and looked forward to the Commission’s input in this regard. They also underlined the importance of clear communication with citizens as the debate evolves, to ensure public support to the process.

The starting point of our discussion is the idea that the internal reform process should retain and strengthen the Union’s capacity to act, while dealing with three challenges - the need for a better functioning of the EU, the impact of a rapidly changing world, and the prospect of future enlargement. Hadja Lahbib, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Belgium

Discussions on the future of Europe and more particularly on EU internal reforms in view of enlargement have been underway since spring 2023. In the Granada declaration of 6 October 2023, EU leaders stated that in parallel with the reform efforts of the aspiring members, the EU needs to lay the necessary internal groundwork and reforms. At the European Council meeting on 14 and 15 December 2023, they also stated that the European Council will address internal reforms at its upcoming meetings with a view to adopting by summer 2024 conclusions on a roadmap for future work.

The presidency intends to continue the discussions on the future of Europe in the General Affairs Council in the coming months, in support to and preparation for the work of the European Council.

• European Council, 14-15 December 2023
• Informal meeting of heads of state or government, Granada, 6 October 2023
• Informal ministerial meeting on general affairs, Murcia, 28 September 2023

European Semester

Ministers also focused on the European Semester.

They examined a synthesis report, drawn up by the Belgian presidency, on Council contributions on the 2024 European Semester. The presidency presented an updated roadmap for the 2024 European Semester, which outlines the key steps of the 2024 European Semester cycle. The Council also agreed to forward a draft recommendation on the economic policy of the euro area to the European Council for endorsement. The text will be formally adopted by the Council after endorsement by the European Council.

• Synthesis report on Council contributions on the 2024 European Semester
• European Semester 2024 - Updated roadmap
• Draft Council recommendation on the economic policy of the euro area
• How the European Semester works (background information)