The head of the Belgian Foreign Ministry, Aja Labib, spoke about what Brussels will focus on during its presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Belgium has identified and announced six priorities for the country’s rotating EU presidency, which will begin on January 1, 2024 and last for six months. The country’s Foreign Minister Aja Labib spoke about it at a thematic conference, reports Ukrinform on Monday, November 27th.
“The Belgian EU Presidency will focus on two areas – legislation and a vision for the strategic future. In the legislative field, we face temporary obstacles before next year’s European elections to propose solutions, especially for asylum and migration, and to negotiate a review of the multi-year EU budget. We must also adapt to a complex geopolitical context with ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East… In these two strategic directions , we have identified six priorities for our Presidency in the next six months: strengthening the rule of law, strengthening security and defense; our competitiveness; progress in green innovation; implementation of the social agenda; solving problems of migration and asylum,” the official said.
According to him, another important focus of the Belgian EU Presidency is the development of a vision for the future of the European Union in the context of its enlargement, which should allow the EU to maintain its decision-making effectiveness and the ability to provide strong protection for all Europeans.
At the same conference, the Permanent Representative of Belgium to the EU, Ambassador Willem Van de Voorde, said that one of the priorities of the Belgian EU Presidency is the development of the capabilities of the European defense industry.
He added that the strategic discussion on the vision for the future of the European Union will start at the next meeting of the European Council in December this year and will continue next year with the aim of clarifying the EU’s policy directions and adjusting the expenditures in the budget accordingly.
“Due to the war in Ukraine and the acceleration of the enlargement processes, we are faced with the need to recognize and understand new priorities. The EU enlargement process must be carried out correctly, in the interest of the EU and subject to the internal process reforms,” said the diplomat.
As we have already written, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba took part in the Council of Foreign Ministers of the European Union and called for an increase in military aid to Ukraine, which made a decision in December to start negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU, and also speeding up work on the 12th package of sanctions against the RF.
Source: korrespondent
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