EU Council Presidency
French Presidency eyes general approach on governance framework for digital transformation
The French Presidency is set to receive a mandate to initiate interinstitutional negotiations on the Path to the Digital Decade, a decision to set up a governance framework to monitor the progress of member states against the 2030 digital targets.
French presidential candidates’ proposals on healthcare staff shortage
French presidential candidates have put forward their proposals on how to tackle the country's shortage of healthcare staff across several regions. EURACTIV France reports.
French disability minister: people with disabilities must engage in politics
EU disability ministers are meeting in Paris on Wednesday (9 March) to take stock of the EU's disability strategy and exchange best practices. EURACTIV France spoke to the French secretary of state in charge of people with disabilities who initiated the meeting within the French EU Council presidency framework.
More ‘feminist diplomacy’ will improve gender equality, says French minister
It is important that France conducts "feminist diplomacy" to improve gender equality in Europe and elsewhere, Secretary of State for EU affairs Clément Beaune said at a conference on sexual and reproductive health and rights. EURACTIV France reports.
France wants to boost European tech with billions of euros
France announced on Tuesday (8 February) that it has raised more than €3.5 billion to invest in the tech ecosystem, amongst plans to rely on European start-ups to regain the continent's digital sovereignty.
France at the helm of the EU: What is the EU Council and how does it work?
Since January 1, France has held the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Macron’s French EU presidency presentation turns into a settling of scores
President Emmanuel Macron presented the programme of France's six-month EU Council presidency before very agitated MEPs in Strasbourg on Wednesday (19 January), but it quickly turned into a sparring match with the French opposition.
The French and the FPEU: a match made in heaven?
The French Presidency of the Council of the European Union began on 1 January 2022. For six months, France will be setting the pace for the legislative agenda and negotiations at the heart of the European institutions.
Presidential candidate Mélenchon ready to push for EU Treaty reform
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, presidential candidate of radical left party La France Insoumise, hopes to push member countries to break away from EU treaties "that block us" if he wins the election in April.
French presidential election: Where does Europe fit into all this?
France took over the rotating EU Council presidency on 1 January, just a few months before the first round of the French presidential elections where Emmanuel Macron will seek reelection against mostly right-wing challengers.
2022 : high expectations for Macron from both Brussels and Paris
Following the short-lived controversy that marred the display of the European flag on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, it is clear that the next six months of the French presidency of the Council of the European Union are shaping up to be a delicate political balancing act.
French ambassador: Smooth transition between presidency stints in common interest
France is intensively preparing for its EU presidency starting in January while working closely with Slovenia, whose stint at the helm of the EU is ending, French Ambassador to Slovenia Florence Ferrari told STA in an interview.
Internal issues aside, Slovenia’s EU presidency a ‘success’
During its six-month EU presidency, Slovenia successfully led the process of adopting European legislation, but that has been somewhat overshadowed by concerns from Brussels about the rule of law in the country, analysts say.
Future EU: Slovenia advocates Western Balkans enlargement
It is crucial to complete the EU's enlargement to the Western Balkans and prepare the Union for further membership applications by interested European countries, writes Gašper Dovžan.
Deals reached on carcinogens and TEN-E as Slovenia presidency draws to a close
Just before Slovenia hands over the presidency of the Council of the EU to France, member countries have reached final political agreements to update the carcinogens and mutagens directive and to revise the Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) regulation but disagreed on a proposal to update rules for social security coordination.
EU members agree on resilience of critical infrastructure
EU members approved a negotiating position on a draft directive on the resilience of critical entities for talks with the European Parliament on Monday. The directive aims at reducing vulnerability and increasing the resilience of critical infrastructure and systems in nine sectors, ranging from energy to health.
Logar meets French counterpart to discuss EU presidency
Slovenia's Foreign Minister Anže Logar met his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris on Thursday (16 December) to present the achievements of the Slovenian presidency of the Council of the EU and to continue work on key European dossiers.
Logar says resolution on Slovenia ‘political document’
The resolution on the rule of law in Slovenia that the European Parliament will vote on later this week is a political document which does not require special attention, Foreign Minister Anže Logar said in Brussels on Monday.
Slovenia’s Hojs warns of emerging migration crisis in Cyprus
While the situation on the Belarusian border is stabilising, the focus should shift to other hot spots such as Cyprus, Slovenian's interior minister Aleš Hojs warned as EU home affairs ministers met in Brussels on Thursday (10 December).
EU trio holds consultations as end of Slovenia’s stint nears
Slovenia hosted consultations between the trio of Germany, Portugal and Slovenia in light of their joint 18-month presidency of the Council of the EU on Tuesday (7 December), with the importance of economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic being emphasised....
EU health ministers urge fast and coordinated action to contain Omicron
EU health ministers, meeting in Brussels on Tuesday under the chairmanship of Slovenia's Janez Poklukar, called for fast and coordinated action to tackle the surge in infections and the spread of the Omicron variant, supporting the general applicability of the EU digital COVID certificate and emphasising the importance of booster jabs.
Slovenia believes roaming regulation agreement feasible in coming days
EU member states could agree on a draft regulation on roaming in the EU in the coming days, Slovenian Minister of Public Administration Boštjan Koritnik said in Brussels on Friday (3 December). Koritnik, whose country holds the rotating EU Council...
EU-Western Balkans ministerial calls for closer cooperation to better manage migration
Home affairs officials from the EU and the Western Balkans meeting at Brdo estate on Thursday agreed on the need to improve the exchange of information and cooperation on the ground in the combat against organised crime, and terrorism and...