Priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Benelux in 2016

PRIORITIES OF THE LUXEMBOURG PRESIDENCY OF THE BENELUX IN 2016

Under the Luxembourg Presidency in 2016, the Benelux will ● increase mobility and security of persons ● better protect itsenvironment ● strengthen its internal market

Introduction

In 2016 Luxembourg is holding, for the 2nd time since the new Benelux Treaty entered into force in 2012, the Presidency of the Benelux Committee of Ministers. Just as during its recent Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Grand Duchy will strive to put its fundamental values – reliability, dynamism and openness – at the service of the Benelux : listening to the citizens, supporting businesses and cooperating with the various partners in order to act in the general and common interest of the three Benelux countries.

The 2016 Annual Plan, adopted by the Benelux Committee of Ministers on 16 November 2015, describes in detail the specific actions that the three countries wish to undertake in the coming months. Within the framework of implementing this work plan, Luxembourg wishes to place special emphasis on mobility and security of persons, on promoting environmental protection and on deepening the internal market of the Benelux.

These priorities are not isolated actions but fit within the logic of the action of the Benelux Union, which seeks to support European integration via concrete projects and an exemplary cross-border collaboration. Luxembourg will thus place the experience acquired during its 12th Presidency of the European Union at the service of the Benelux and will strive, in close cooperation with the Dutch Presidency of the European Union during the first half of 2016, to fully assume the pioneering role of the Benelux within the European Union.

The Luxembourg Presidency wishes to give new impulses to the Benelux cooperation within the framework of establishing the new 2017-2020 multiannual programme. Broad consultations will thus be held in order to jointly identify the major outlines of our future action.

The Luxembourg Presidency will also encourage an accelerated implementation of theBenelux Action Plan for jobs and growth adopted on 29 April 2015 by the Benelux Summit. The Prime Ministers of the Benelux will have the occasion to review the implementation of this action plan during their next Summit this autumn in Luxembourg.

1 Increasing mobility and security of persons

With regard to current threats and challenges, mobility and security of persons are themes that require common responses. Throughout the Benelux, but also the Greater Region, it is essential to eliminate various kinds of barriers that impede or prevent the mobility of persons, while making sure to guarantee them the highest possible level of security.

In total, the Benelux countries have 37% of the border workers of the entire European Union, i.e. some 300,000 workers who commute between the Benelux countries and the bordering countries, including 170,334, i.e. 60% entering Luxembourg. The Benelux must concentrate on the opportunities to be seized in the area of mobility of employment and education, the transferability of diplomas as well as professional qualifications and traineeships. In addition, an improvement in cross-border health care and the circulation of patients – particularly with regard to the exchange (notably digital) of data – is essential.

The Presidency will give particular importance to the subject of trafficking in human beings. In this context, a multidisciplinary cooperation will be initiated and deepened by giving a central place to the victims of human trafficking.

Security is a priority on the political agenda of the Benelux. New evolutions and new challenges in this area require new forms of collaboration, both in the legal and the digital domains. In this context, a Benelux Security Week will be organised under the Luxembourg Presidency.

The Senningen action plan constitutes the basis of our cooperation and, thanks to the Benelux Treatyon cross-border police intervention of 8 June 2004, the operational cooperation between the police services has been notably reinforced. The Luxembourg Presidency will initiate the activities with a view to preparing the 4th Senningen action plan for the 2017-2020 period. The Benelux Police Treaty will likewise be updated. The intensive cooperation that takes place within the framework of the various agreements and existing instruments will thus be continued, and even strengthened. Additionally, the three countries will examine if and how a relevant cooperation can be put into place to prevent and combat radicalism and terrorism.

The Senningen action plan also constitutes the basis of the Benelux cooperation with regard to managing crises and fighting catastrophes. This will involve promoting cooperation in the area of the analysis and identification of risks, exchange of information between the crisis centres, cooperation within the framework of large-scale evacuations and cooperation between the emergency services of the three countries.

Within the context of the migratory crisis, the Benelux policy on asylum and migration will be intensified.

2 Better protect its environment

The Luxembourg Presidency intends to address in an enhanced way questions relating to climate change, protection of the environment within the Benelux, as well as energy efficiency and a pilot project aimed at a better coordination of our environmental legislation in the border regions.

The circular economy is a vehicle of innovation and offers real opportunities for sustainable growth within the Benelux. The Luxembourg Presidency will work resolutely in favour of the transition towards a circular economy within the Benelux; including ecodesign and cross-border waste management.

In 2015 an extensive consultation was initiated concerning smart and sustainable transportation. The joint ambition for 2016 is to work towards concrete cooperation projects, for instance to promote multimodality, to encourage the ‘Lean and Green’ label, or, in the context of the inter-city cooperation platform Urbiscoop, to improve mobility in urban zones. Furthermore, the recommendation on sustainable mobility will be implemented in particular in coordinating the three national policy frameworks within the framework of the ‘Clean Power for Transport’ Directive.

In this context, the Benelux will also contribute to achieving the environmental objectives on the European level, notably those of the Europe 2020 strategy and the 7th European Environment Action Programme (EAP), and will strive to coordinate the policies on this level.

Strengthening its internal market

In their joint declaration of 29 April 2015, the three Prime Ministers of the Benelux recalled that the completion of the internal market is and remains an absolute priority of the Benelux cooperation.

The economy is in constant transformation, and it is imperative to support these new trends in order to make it possible for companies and citizens to benefit as much as possible from a genuine Benelux single market. Within the context of a better cross-border cooperation, a series of measures thus need to be taken in particular concerning retail and e-commerce, and – whenever possible – the administrative burdens weighing on the companies need to be reduced.

Thus, eliminating the remaining barriers for businesses and consumers on the internal retail market is a key element of the ‘Benelux Action Plan for jobs and growth´ adopted in April 2015. The Benelux will launch a cooperation to identify existing barriers and constraints and address them. Special attention will be paid to implementing the Benelux Recommendation on territorial supply constraints in the Benelux (2015).

Under the Luxembourg Presidency, the possibilities of expanding the use and application of the principle of mutual recognition will be studied in order to stimulate cross-border activities and reduce the administrative and regulatory burdens for businesses of the Benelux.

3 The three Benelux countries are pioneers with regard to ICT, innovation and penetration of the internet, so the Benelux should be a model in the implementation of the ‘digital single market for Europe’ package and will actively promote the search for solutions concerning the telecommunications market, mobile payments and even geo- blocking, in the perspective of strengthening the rights of consumers across borders.

Similarly, Luxembourg will undertake to deepen the cooperation on energy and transport. In the field of energy, and in particular renewable energies, the Benelux will work resolutely in favour of the energy transition and the opportunities deriving therefrom with regard to supply security, interconnection and competitiveness and integration of the markets on the regional and European levels. Concerning the transport sector, one must in particular draw lessons from the results of the study on intra-Benelux transport flows and focus on one side on the existence of certain rules that constrain modern transport, and on the other side on the absence of clear rules for the new forms of transport. Likewise, the cooperation between the transport inspection departments will be continued and expanded with a tailor-made risk rating tool, which will make it possible to automatically share, on the cross-border level, all inspection results, thus opening the way to more targeted and efficient inspections. Finally, initiatives will be necessary with regard to railways, aviation and the maritime sector; in particular the elaboration of a Benelux rail agenda for regional cross-border transport.

The dimension of intergovernmental cooperation

The Luxembourg Presidency intends to strengthen the cooperation of the Benelux countries in the field of foreign policy. This strategic consultation is of growing importance in a Union of 28 Member States in order to prepare decisions and defend its interests. The Presidency will examine the possibility of contributing to the discussions within the Council of the European Union by adopting joint Benelux positions. For this purpose, it will organise meetings of the Policy Directors and Directors of European Affairs of the three Ministries of Foreign Affairs.

The Benelux Summit will deal with cooperation within the framework of the Benelux Treaty and will also provide an occasion for the three Prime Ministers to review subjects of current European and international importance.

Luxembourg also intends to give a new impetus to the informal consultation between the Ministers of Foreign and European Affairs of the three countries ahead of the Foreign Affairs and General Affairs Councils. This ministerial consultation should also be reinforced in the other EU Council configurations.

The three Benelux countries will continue their consultations with other groups of countries, such as the Baltic states or the Visegrád countries. The Luxembourg Presidency will in particular organise a meeting of the Ministers of Foreign and European Affairs of the Benelux with their counterparts of the Baltic states, as well as with those of the Visegrád Group. The Luxembourg Presidency will also continue the tradition of joint working visits of the Benelux to third countries, whether on the ministerial level or that of senior officials of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs.