Brussels, 11 October 2024
The meeting will begin at 10.00.
Chair:
János BÓKA, Minister for European Union Affairs of Hungary
Ministers will continue preparations for the European Council meeting on 17-18 October 2024. The Council will be invited to approve a declaration on fostering Jewish life and combating antisemitism, followed by an exchange of views. Ministers will take stock of relations between the EU and Switzerland. As part of the 2024 European Semester, the Council is expected to approve integrated country- specific recommendations and transmit them to the European Council. Under ‘any other business,’ ministers will touch upon the follow-up to the European Parliament elections, the latest developments in EU-UK relations, and the situation in Georgia.
October European Council
The Council will continue preparations for the European Council meeting on 17-18 October 2024 by discussing draft conclusions.
At their upcoming meeting, EU leaders will address Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in all its dimensions and the EU’s comprehensive support to Ukraine and its people.
The European Council will also address the situation in the Middle East.
Leaders will review progress on enhancing the EU’s competitiveness, with Enrico Letta’s report Much More than a Market and Mario Draghi’s report The Future of European Competitiveness serving as the backdrop for their discussions.
The European Council will hold an in-depth discussion on migration and take stock of the implementation of the comprehensive approach on migration, agreed on at the special European Council meeting on 9 February 2023.
It will also be invited to endorse the integrated country-specific recommendations and conclude the 2024 European Semester.
Under ‘Other items’, leaders will take stock of preparations for the meetings of COP29 on climate change in Baku, Azerbaijan, and of COP16 on biological diversity in Cali, Colombia.
In the light of events, EU leaders may also address specific foreign policy issues, including developments in Georgia, Moldova, Venezuela, and Sudan.
European Council, 17-18 October 2024
Fight against antisemitism
The Council will be invited to approve a declaration on fostering Jewish life and combating antisemitism, followed by an exchange of views with Ms Sirpa Rautio, Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights.
The fight against antisemitism is one of the priorities of the Hungarian presidency, in particular in a context of rising antisemitism in the EU.
The EU addresses the fight against all forms of discrimination, hatred, intolerance, racism and xenophobia, including antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred, through a range of legislative acts and non-legislative measures.
On 5 October 2021, the Commission presented an EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life (2021-2030), which is structured along three pillars: i) preventing all forms of antisemitism; ii) protecting and fostering Jewish life; and iii) promoting research, education and Holocaust remembrance.
The European Council welcomed the strategy in its conclusions of 21 and 22 October 2021 and has on several occasions drawn attention to the importance of combating antisemitism, hate, intolerance, racism and xenophobia, including anti-Muslim hatred, most recently in its conclusions of 27 June 2024.
The Council has addressed the specific issue of antisemitism in its declaration of 6 December 2018 on the fight against antisemitism and the development of a common security approach to better protect Jewish communities and institutions in Europe, the declaration of 2 December 2020 on mainstreaming the fight against antisemitism across policy areas, and in the conclusions of 4 March 2022 on combating racism and antisemitism.
The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights 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. This includes data on the lived experience of antisemitism among Jews in the EU and its annual overview of antisemitic incidents and hate crimes recorded in the EU.
EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life (European Commission)
EU Agency for Fundamental Rights
EU-Switzerland relations
The Commission will brief 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.
Negotiations began this spring after the Council’s decision on 12 March 2024 authorising the Commission to negotiate a broad package of measures with Switzerland and approving the corresponding negotiating directives.
The aim of the negotiations is to modernise and deepen bilateral relations between the EU and Switzerland, to ensure fair competition between EU and Swiss companies operating within the internal market, and to guarantee the protection of the rights of EU citizens in Switzerland, including preventing discrimination between citizens of different member states. The mandate also addresses Switzerland’s concerns by allowing limited exceptions to alignment with EU rules in the areas of free movement of persons, the posting of workers, and rail and road transport.
The key elements of the package include:
- institutional provisions to be included in existing and future agreements with Switzerland related to the internal market, providing for dynamic alignment with the EU acquis, uniform interpretation and application, and dispute resolution
- state aid provisions to be included in existing and future agreements related to the internal market
- an agreement allowing for Switzerland’s participation in EU programmes, including Horizon Europe
- an agreement on Switzerland’s permanent financial contribution to social and economic cohesion in the EU as a counterpart to its participation in the internal market
- relaunch of negotiations on agreements on electricity, food safety and health Negotiations on the different elements of the package are conducted in parallel.
The EU mandate is based on the Common Understanding achieved in December 2023 after 18 months of exploratory talks between the Commission and representatives of Switzerland’s Federal Council. It builds on the 2014 mandate for an institutional framework agreement as well as earlier mandates for agreements on electricity, health, food safety and the participation of Switzerland in the European Union Agencies for the Space Programme and for Railways.
European Semester
As part of the 2024 European Semester, the Council is expected to approve integrated country- specific recommendations (CSRs) and transmit them to the European Council for endorsement.
The CSRs provide member states yearly guidance on national reforms. They adapt priorities identified at EU level to the national level.
The recommendations are drafted by the Commission, discussed among EU ministers in the Council and endorsed by the EU leaders. They are formally adopted in the Council.
How the European Semester works (background information) European Semester 2024 – Updated roadmap
Any other business
Under ‘Any other business,’ the Commission will brief ministers on the follow-up to the European Parliament elections, highlighting key takeaways and lessons learned.
The Commission will also provide an update on the latest developments in EU-UK relations. The German delegation is expected to raise the situation in Georgia.
Source – EU Council: Background brief – General Affairs Council, 15 October 2024