Belgian ministers outline Council Presidency priorities

On Thursday 3 September MEPs discussed Europe's space and telecommunications policies with Belgian ministers Laruelle and Van Quickenborne, who presented the presidency's priorities to the EP Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. Before the summer recess, MEPs had quizzed the ministers about their plans for the coming six months in other policy areas.

Space policy

"For space policy, the expertise of the European Space Agency and the considerable po- litical clout of the EU are two complementary assets", said Sabine Laruelle, minister for small businesses, the self-employed, farming and science policy. She called for progress in defining a European vision for space exploration and argued that European actors must work to achieve sustainable exploitation of Galileo and GMES for the benefit of the public.

She also mentioned the advantages that spin-offs of space research could bring to the management of climate change, in particular for African and developing countries. Reply- ing to questions by MEPs Philippe Lamberts (Greens/EFA, BE) and Maria Carvalho (EPP, PT), she said she was determined to take seriously the budgetary issues relating to the Press release Press ITER, Galileo and GMES projects.

Digital economy "Europe must move towards a fully digital economy", said , min- ister for enterprise and administrative simplification. He emphasised the importance of the digital agenda among the EU2020 goals and called for thought to be given to ways of funding the plans to provide broadband access to all by 2013. "Shouldn't this simply be a universal service?" he asked, following a question from Kathleen Van Brempt (S&D, BE). Following comments by Paul Rübig (EPP, AT), the minister urged Parliament to press for a major reduction in roaming charges, which he considered to be too high, especially for data. He backed a call by Catherine Trautmann (S&D, FR) for the telecoms package to be implemented speedily and in full.

Fisheries

Setting catch amounts and quotas for 2011, reforming EU fisheries policy and further work on long-term management plans will be the Belgian Presidency's priorities, Minister-President of the Kris Peeters told the Fisheries Committee on 15 July. Dialogue between scientists and fishermen will be a key focus, he said in reply to questions on the use of scientific knowledge. A symposium to be held in November in Ostend could bring an "important breakthrough" towards ending their mutual distrust, he added. The Lisbon treaty must be respected "not only in the letter, but also in spirit", said Mr Peeters, replying to many MEPs' concerns as to whether the Council would respect Parliament's new powers. On long-term management plans, the Minister-President said the Council is working hard to find "a pragmatic solution as soon as we can" to end delays in agree-

Press Service Directorate for the Media Director - Spokesperson : Jaume DUCH GUILLOT EN Reference No.: 20100714IPR78879 Press switchboard number (32-2) 28 33000 1/6 Press release ing to proposed legislation on anchovy and horse mackerel. Replying to questions on Ice- land, Mr Peeters said: "Fisheries is a very important aspect in the accession negotiations. We will follow this part very closely [..] and hope you will do the same." In the chair: Carmen FRAGA ESTÉVEZ (EPP, ES)

Environment Climate change, biodiversity, sustainable management of materials and the best environ- ment policy instruments are Belgian Presidency's four priorities, environment minister- Joke Schauvliege told the Environment Committee on 14 July.

Asked whether the Presidency would press for a biowaste directive, Ms Schauvliege said supported the relevant EP resolution and that the Presidency would discuss op- tions with the Commission. MEPs also asked whether the proposed drinking water direc- tive was also a priority, to which the minister replied that this was indeed on the agenda of the presidency trio.

MEPs also stressed it was important that the EU should agree common positions well ahead of international conferences such as the climate conference in Cancun and the- biodiversity conference in Nagoya, so as to be able to negotiate with other nations. Ms Schauvliege reassured MEPs that the first informal meeting of ministers had already taken place.

In the chair: Jo LEINEN (S&D, DE)

Women's rights and gender equality "We want to get more women into work and also into higher positions" employment and equal opportunities minister Joëlle Milquet told the Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee on 14 July. Gender policies should be implemented in employment policies, and the gender pay gap should be cut to 0-5% by 2020, as stated in the EU2020 strategy, she added. The Belgian Presidency will seek consensus on the draft "maternity leave" directive and also pursue the Spanish Presidency's work on combating violence against women and discrimination. MEPs advocated employment quotas for women, citing Norway's 40% quota for board mem- bers of listed companies. The also cited Parliament's call, in a resolution of 10 February 2010, for a European Year of Combating Violence against Women, adding that new forms of violence, such as stalking, should also be addressed.

In the chair: Eva-Britt Svensson (GUE/NGL, SE)

Employment and social affairs "We want to put employment policies at the heart of European strategies and of economic governance", employment and equality opportunities minister Joëlle Milquet told the Em- ployment and Social Affairs Committee on 14 July. Employment policies should play a promi- nent role in the decisions soon to be taken on economic governance. The minister also outlined five other priorities of the Belgian Presidency for the longer term: green jobs, ageing of the population, restructuring, flexicurity and the fight against discrimination, particularly on the labour market. On social cohesion, social affairs minister emphasised "the tools of the 2020 strategy", in particular Guideline 10 on social inclusion and poverty. She also called for more systematic use of Article 9 of the Lisbon Treaty as a horizontal social clause. "The fight against poverty and in particular the minimum income, child poverty and homelessness, are our priorities", said Jean-Marc Delizée, state secretary for social affairs and people with

20100714IPR78879 - 2/6 Press release disabilities. Following publication of the Commission's green paper on pensions, Michel Daerden, the pensions minister, called for a solution to certain questions relating to mobile workers at supranational level, even if "subsidiarity is the watchword on pensions".

In the chair: Pervenche Berès (S&D, FR)

Transport and tourism The Presidency will advocate ambitious road safety targets and push for cross-border en- forcement of fines, minister for mobility Etienne Schouppe told the Transport and Tourism Committee on 13 June. It also aims to conclude negotiations on bus passenger rights and to improve maritime safety legislation, he said. For air transport, Mr Schouppe promised "rapid progress" towards creating functional air traffic control blocks and said he expected the Commission to propose legislation to strengthen airport security. MEPs felt the plans were ambitious, and most welcomed them, although some warned that they would require additional funds. Ms Isabelle Weyckmans, tourism minister in Belgium's German-speaking community gov- ernment, promised efforts to promote culture-oriented, socially-responsible and sustainable tourism, both internally and internationally, presenting Europe as a world-class tourist des- tination. Belgium would also aim to include provisions for these purposes in EU financial instruments, she said. MEPs suggested allocating additional EU funds for tourism policy, stepping up support for bicycle tourism and introducing EU legislation to protect the rights of disabled tourists. In the chair: Dominique Riquet (EPP, FR)

Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Belgian ministers Laurette Oneklinkx (health) and Sabine Laruelle (agriculture and science) discussed the Presidency agenda in the Environment Committee on 13 June. On cross- border healthcare, Ms Onkelinx pointed to the lengthy negotiations that had been needed to reach an agreement in Council. Several MEPs stressed that remaining legal uncertainties still need to be ironed out. Ms Onkelinx told MEPs critical of the EU-wide handling of the H1N1 that she favoured transparency on the issue. On food safety, MEPs welcomed Ms Laruelle's view that standards on food produced in the EU should also apply to imported food. Ms Onkelinx noted Parliament's vote opposing inclusion of food from cloned animals under 'novel food' rules, stressing however that an agreement should be found in conciliation, otherwise marketing of such food could go ahead. Food labelling rules and newly announced GM cultivation proposals will also feature on the Belgian Presidency agenda later this year. In the chair: Jo Leinen (S&D, DE)

International trade Concluding the Doha Development Round, signing the EU-South Korea Free trade agree- ment, pressing ahead with negotiations for an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement and the relations with key EU trading partners (US, China, Russia) are the Belgian Presidency's in- ternational trade priorities, foreign affairs and foreign trade minister Steven Vanackere told the International Trade Committee on 13 July. On the development dimension of trade, Mr Vanackere highlighted the need to conclude the regional Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the ACP countries and to start the review of General System of Preferences (GSP). MEPs sought assurances that Parliament's common trade policy powers, and in particular its consent to international agreements, would be properly implemented, as required by the Lisbon Treaty, through specirfic forms of inter-institutional co-operation.

20100714IPR78879 - 3/6 Press release In the chair: Vital Moreira (S&D, PT)

Education and culture Finding an agreement on the introduction of the "European Heritage Label" so as to "to bring citizens closer to Europe" is a key priority for the Belgian Presidency, Fadila Laanan, minister for culture, the audiovisual sector, health and equal opportunities of the French community of Belgium told the Education and Culture Committee on 13 July. Among other cultural priorities, the minister said she would back the development of creativity and inno- vation, and culture as a means to combat social exclusion. She also said she would like to start discussion about a possible support mechanism for European cinema. Mrs Laanan was followed by Flemish minister for education, youth, equal opportunities and Brussels affairs Pascal Smet, who outlined priorities in the education and youth sector, in- cluding setting as medium-term objectives a 10% reduction in the numbers of young peo- ple leaving school without qualifications, and 10% increases in the number of those obtain- ing higher education diplomas and professional qualifications. Finally, Flemish Minister for Finance, Budget, Work, Town and country planning and Sport Philippi Muyters said the Presidency's key focus in the field of sport would be the social role of sport, including pro- moting fair play and the fight against doping. In the chair: Doris Pack (EPP, DE)

Regional development The Belgian Presidency will deepen the debate on the future of EU regional policy, especially on setting clear thematic and geographical objectives, and will focus on its contribution to the EU 2020 strategy for growth, Rudy Demotte, Minister-President of the Walloon region and of the French community, told the Regional Development Committee on 13 July. Replying to questions on new, alternative criteria for distributing EU funds, Mr Demotte said he favoured considering new factors in addition to GDP, such as unemployment. Mr De- motte recognised that being "a mystery to many stakeholders" is one of EU regional policy's greatest handicaps and hence that simplification and making institutional debates under- standable to end users - local authorities and citizens - will be essential. Asked about plans for the future cohesion policy, Mr Demotte said that the answers will largely depend on re- source planning, where the Parliament could "help us to develop an offensive and forward looking approach".

Agriculture "We need a strong and common agricultural policy" said Sabine Laruelle, Belgium's minister for SMEs, the self-employed, agriculture and science policy told the Agriculture Committee on 13 July, adding that the Presidency will "lobby hard to have a substantial agricultural budget" to end "disparities in payments between new and old Member States". Asked by MEPs about the long-awaited Commission legislative proposal on the dairy sec- tor and particularly about whether there should be public management of the market, Ms Laruelle said the EU "needs to take action quickly" although "there is no majority in Council to have a centralised system". Generally, the Presidency's priorities very much reflect those of the committee, as outlined by chair Paolo De Castro (S&D, IT). Besides the future of the CAP after 2013 and the regulation of the dairy sector, these are: EU food quality policy, with a proposal expected by the end of the year, specific provisions for the outermost regions, WTO negotiations and GMOs. In the chair: Paolo De Castro (S&D, IT)

Immigration and asylum Laying the first foundations for a Common European Asylum System by 2012 is the Belgian Presidency's top priority in this area. , minister for the budget, migration and asylum policy, family policy and federal cultural institutions told Civil Liberties Committee

20100714IPR78879 - 4/6 Press release MEPs on 13 July that the Presidency aims for a "balanced" asylum and immigration policy. "Our vision involves a global approach (...) based on solidarity between the Member States" and with a clear focus on responsibility, he said. The Presidency hopes to make progress on four of the six proposals currently in the Council: the Eurodac regulation, the long-term residence directive, the qualification directive and the Dublin regulation, said the minister. The two other proposals - on asylum procedures and the reception directives - "haven't gone so far as the others (...) and we feel that we are not going to finalise these two texts" during the Belgian Presidency, he added. Among the legal migration priorities, the minister aims to complete negotiations on the sin- gle permit directive and to make progress on the upcoming proposals on seasonal work- ers and intra-corporate transferees. In the fight against illegal immigration, the readmission agreements and the role of Frontex are top of the agenda. Unaccompanied minors and visa liberalization will also get special attention. In the chair: Sophie in 't Veld (ALDE, NL)

Constitutional Affairs Implementing the Lisbon Treaty, the Framework Agreement between Parliament and the Commission and the reform of EP election rules are the Presidency's key constitutional af- fairs priorities, Belgium's European affairs minister Olivier Chastel told the Constitutional Affairs Committee on 13 July. Issues falling under the Lisbon Treaty include the EU's acces- sion to the European Court of Human Rights, the citizens' initiative, the 2011 budget, dele- gated acts and relations between the Council and the rotating Presidency. MEPs stressed the importance of delivering the promises of the Lisbon Treaty to citizens and the need for reforms to ease the economic crisis. In the chair: Carlo Casini (EPP, IT)

Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs As priorities in the area of justice, minister on 12 July highlighted the proposals on the European protection order, child pornography and human trafficking. Dur- ing its term in office the Belgian Presidency also aims to make progress towards a general agreement on data protection: “we have to take our time to get this agreement right”, the minister added. The Presidency plans to “put together a new and feasible model” for a Eu- ropean investigation order, to boost the role of Eurojust and cross-border judicial and police cooperation. Better access to justice for citizens and strengthened procedural rights are also on the Belgian agenda. "We are taking modest steps because we know the undertakings involved (...) and we want to remain realistic", he concluded. For her part, home affairs minister Annemie Turtelboom said she expected the Belgian Pres- idency to put flesh on the European security plan launched by the Spanish Presidency and to develop a methodology for implementing the plan. She favoured a "global, integrated" approach to "cross-border issues" such as "mobile criminal gangs" and hoped to develop the exchange of information between Member States for this purpose. She also called for work to be done at "grassroots level" to prevent extremism and radicalisation, using police on the beat. In the chair: Juan Fernando López Aguilar (S&D, ES)

Internal market and consumer protection Deepening the internal market, and completing the consumer protection and late pay- ments directives are the key priorities, enterprise and simplification minister Vincent Van Quickenborne told the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee on 12 July. "The internal market needs a fresh second breath", he said, adding that tthe Monti report should now be translated into concrete actions. Standardisation and the development of a European Patent will also be major issues during the Belgian Presidency, he concluded.

20100714IPR78879 - 5/6 Press release Committee Chair Malcolm Harbour (ECR, UK) welcomed the fact that "internal market is- sues feature very strongly" on the Belgian agenda and highlighted the directive on the re- tail sector as an area where he hoped for close co-operation.

In the chair: Malcolm Harbour (ECR, UK)

Industry, Research and Energy

On Monday 12 July, Belgian ministers Jean-Claude Marcourt and Benoît Cerexhe presented Presidency priorities in the field of industry, research and innovation. The key tasks are implementing the EU2020 strategy, while supporting research, innovation and a durable industrial policy as a basis for a lasting development. MEPs were pleased with the emphasis on industrial policy, but urged the Council to commit more money for research and cutting red tape. They noted that most EU research programme funding ends up in big enterprises, because small ones cannot afford lengthy and costly application procedures. On energy policy, minister Paul Magnette stressed the importance of measures to reduce energy poverty and protect consumers. He also promised to pave the way for adoption of the Energy Action Plan. Other priorities are regional co-operation within the energy sector, policy debate on the energy infrastructure package and a review of guidelines for the Trans- European Energy Networks. Committee members called for specific measures to improve energy efficiency, with a sharper focus on clean, sustainable sources. They also urged the Council to provide more funds for projects like ITER, an experimental fusion reactor to be built in Spain, which face an uncertain future. In the chair: Herbert Reul (EPP, DE)

Legal affairs Better protection for victims of crime, and especially of domestic crime, the fight against human trafficking, sexual exploitation and child pornography, reinforced legal co-operation among Member States and better access to justice for citizens are Belgium's key legal affairs priorities as set out by justice minister Stefaan De Clerck on 5 July. To take account of greater mobility in Europe, laws on cross-border divorce (Rome III) and on succession and wills are also high on the Belgian Presidency’s agenda. Mr De Clerck also looked forward to making progress on mutual recognition of judicial decisions, cross- border judicial and police co-operation, a European investigation order, and reinforcing the powers of Eurojust. Finally, the Presidency also aims to “find some solutions to get the ball rolling” on the Statute for a European Private Company.

For the single market, a European patent is the key priority, said Enterprise and Simplifica- tion Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne.“80% of my energy will be invested in the European patent”, the minister told MEPs. The first step for this patent is the language regime, pre- sented last week by the Commission. Consumers’ rights, the late payments directive – on which the Belgian Presidency hopes to reach a first reading agreement with Parliament – and copyright will also be major issues during the Belgian Presidency, he concluded. In the chair: Klaus-Heiner Lehne (EPP, DE)

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