Last week marked the official launch of Belgium's EU presidency. For the next six months, Belgium will chair the EU Council and the gatherings of individual EU ministers. But what does that mean in practice? How important is it? And why is so much expected of Belgium?
Officially, it already started on 1 January. Also last week European commission president Ursula von der Leyen met with a Belgian delegation led by prime minister Alexander De Croo (Flemish liberal). It’s the start of six well-filled months.
1. What exactly will Belgium be presiding over?
Ursula von der Leyen, Charles Michel, Roberta Metsola... These are all names you may already associate with presidency and the EU. Each is the permanent president of an important EU body: Ms Von der Leyen at the European commission, Mr Michel at the European council and Ms Metsola at the European parliament.
For the next six months Belgium will chair the fourth major EU body: the Council of the European Union. This is the body in which the ministers of the 27 EU member states take their seats. Every six months, a different country chairs the council. Belgium has now taken over from Spain.
The EU Council is often confused with the European council, headed by Charles Michel. In that latter body, the heads of state and government of all member states decide the EU's general policies and priorities. In the EU Council, on the other hand, ministers from the member states sit, each in councils or ministerial gatherings that take decisions on their area of expertise.
The EU Council plays an especially important role in making European laws. The country holding the presidency has two tasks. First, it has to get all member states to agree on legislative proposals coming from the European commission, by finding a compromise on which a majority agrees.
Next, the president negotiates with the European Parliament on behalf of all 27 member states. When these negotiations result in a final agreement, you have a European law.
That’s what happens in at least 80 per cent of cases. But the EU council's powers go further. When it comes to sensitive matters, parliament does not intervene. For example, in the case of sanctions against Russia, but also agreements on taxation, the budget, defence or foreign policy, it is the council that decides.
What does the EU presidency mean in practice?
In practical terms, it means that for the next six months the various EU ministerial councils - e.g. meetings of EU finance or environment ministers - will be led by Belgian ministers. In addition, it is also Belgian diplomats and officials who lead the preparatory meetings.
In doing so, Belgians acting as impartial mediators must seek compromises between the different positions of the member states. In this way, they should try to finalise as much legislation as possible.
EU Presidency Belgian-style
Due to Belgium’s complex state structure, the powers individual EU councils of ministers are responsible for are often divided among several Belgian governments. As a result Belgium is the only country to make use of a little rule in the Maastricht Treaty that stipulates that ministers from devolved governments can sit on EU councils.
Almost all Belgian ministers will be involved in the EU presidency. In the case of the specialist groups centring on e.g. industry or social affairs, there is a rotation between federal, Flemish, Walloon and Brussels ministers. Only one specialist group is chaired by a single Flemish minister: fisheries, which Hilde Crevits (Christian democrat) will chair.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has no official role. After all, as head of the federal government, he does not sit on the EU Council, but on the European Council, and there, Charles Michel, another Belgian, already serves as permanent president. In practice, though, Mr De Croo will be the face of Belgium’s presidency. He will also play an important role in behind-the-scenes negotiations.
3. What can we expect?
It will be a particularly hectic presidency, because European elections will take place in June. This means that, in the first few months of the year, the most important thing for our country is to conclude as many agreements as possible with the European Parliament. The deadline for this is actually February. In that way everything can be legally completed in time for the dissolution of the European parliament in April.
Some 140 legislative files still need to be finalised. Belgium hopes for agreement on 60 in the next two months. By comparison, Spain completed 70 as president, but over a full six months.
From migration to air pollution and driving licences
A well-known and important file, for instance, is the migration pact. As president, Spain already managed to reach an agreement with the European parliament. But there is still a lot of subsidiary legislation that still needs to be finalised and approved by member states.
Another agreement Belgium would like to finalise is the Net-Zero Industry Act. It should ensure that more production of key technologies, like solar panels and heat pumps, takes place in Europe, and dependence on imports from countries like China is reduced.
Belgium also hopes to find agreement on stricter European air pollution standards. Moreover, new rules for driving licences and excess packaging waste are still being discussed.
Europe’s course in coming years
The second part of the Belgian presidency will be very different. It will be dominated by the strategic agenda that the European Council plans to agree in June. This should set the EU's course and objectives for the next five years.
A major item on the agenda is the further enlargement of the EU, with the pending membership applications of Ukraine and the countries of the western Balkan. Other hot topics are joint security and European defence, and possible adjustments to the functioning of the EU.
It’s clear that in coming months most Belgian ministers, whether they serve in the federal, Flemish, Brussels or Walloon governments, will have their work cut out for them. Luckily, they will be able to count on that quintessential Belgian quality: the art of finding compromise.