Luxembourg, 15 October 2024
October European Council
The Council continued preparations for the European Council meeting on 17-18 October 2024 by discussing draft conclusions.
At their upcoming meeting, EU leaders will address:
- Ukraine
- Middle East
- competitiveness
- migration
- 2024 European Semester
- other items
EU-Switzerland relations
The Commission briefed ministers on the progress of negotiations regarding a broad package of measures as the basis for future EU-Switzerland relations, followed by an exchange of views.
The aim of the negotiations is to modernise and deepen bilateral relations between the EU and Switzerland. The key elements of the package include:
- institutional and state aid provisions to be included in existing and future agreements with Switzerland related to the internal market
- an agreement allowing for Switzerland’s participation in EU programmes
- an agreement on Switzerland’s permanent financial contribution to social and economic cohesion in the EU
- negotiations on agreements on electricity, food safety and health
During the exchange of views, ministers stressed the importance of keeping a positive momentum in order to conclude the negotiations by the end of 2024. They underlined that this requires substantial and parallel progress on all agreements, most importantly on the free movement of persons agreement and on a fair and regular Swiss contribution to cohesion, treating them as a single package.
The Commission was invited to continue its efforts, with the necessary flexibility that maintains the overall balance, with the objective of bringing the negotiations to a successful conclusion in the form of a single and balanced package of agreements reflecting the interest of the EU.
- EU-Switzerland: Council adopts mandate for negotiations on future relationship (press release, 12 March 2024)
- Common Understanding concluding the exploratory talks on the bilateral EU-Switzerland relationship, 15 December 2023
Fight against antisemitism
Ministers approved a declaration on fostering Jewish life and combating antisemitism. The declaration highlights the importance of the fight against all forms of antisemitism, racism and hatred and discrimination, in particular in a context of rising antisemitism in the EU. It also emphasises the need to foster Jewish life through remembrance, culture and education, and by ensuring the safety and security of Jewish people.
Ministers also held an exchange of views with Ms Sirpa Rautio, Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights on fostering Jewish life and combating antisemitism. The Agency plays a key role in collecting and providing high-quality data, research and analysis about fundamental rights in the EU and the identification of trends, including in the area of the fight against antisemitism.
European Semester
As part of the 2024 European Semester, the Council approved integrated country-specific recommendations and decided to transmit them to the European Council for endorsement.
Following endorsement by the European Council, the recommendations will be formally adopted by the Council next week.
Any other business
Under ‘Any other business,’ the German delegation raised a point on recent developments in Georgia.
The Commission provided an update on the latest developments in EU-UK relations. Ministers generally welcomed the positive engagement and expressed openness to consider how the relations could be further strengthened. They also recalled the importance of the full, faithful, and timely implementation of existing agreements as a pre-condition for future engagements, as well as their responsibility for the overall EU-UK relationship within the Council.
The Commission also briefed ministers on the follow-up to the European Parliament elections, highlighting key takeaways and lessons learned for improving preparedness and fighting disinformation and foreign interference in the future.
The Council also adopted without discussion the items on the list of non-legislative A items.
Preparatory documents
Outcome documents
Press releases
Source – EU Council