Following Spain in the first half of the year (January – June 2010), Belgium will now take over the Presidency of the European Council from 1 July until 31 December 2010. Belgium is part of the so-called ‘trio presidency', together with Spain and Hungary (January – June 2011). In this “trio”, the three countries coordinate their policy priorities to ensure a more focused work of the Council.
The primary objectives of the trio originally consisted of energy and climate change, as well as the ‘EU 2020' strategy for growth and jobs, financial supervision, the social agenda and the strengthening of the EU's external actions.
However, due to the economic downturn and the efforts for recovery there has been an overall shift towards concerns such as employment and sustainable growth, with less focus on energy issues. The environment will still be of central importance, adhering to matters such as switching to a green economy, preparing the December UN climate conference in Cancún and adjusting taxation to fit other EU objectives on employment, energy, transport and emissions reduction.
Belgium currently has a transition government, which caused concerns about their Presidency, however high level Belgian politicians argued that this will not be the case. Firstly, they point to the fact that, that with the Lisbon Treaty in force, the role of the presidency is less central, with the European Council taking on greater responsibility for coordination. Secondly, Mr. Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, is himself of Belgian nationality.
In energy matters the Belgian Presidency will continue preparatory work for the new Energy Action Plan (2011-2020), with the aim of adopting it during the spring of 2011. Moreover, the Belgian Presidency will initiate a debate on the roadmap for a Long-Term Strategy for achieving a Low CO₂ Emissions Economy by 2050.
The Belgian Presidency will focus especially on foreign energy supply routes and the creation of an internal market of reliable energy supplies to the EU countries. Furthermore, they will pay special attention to renewables and energy efficiency measures in order to ensure the fulfillment of the 20-20-20 targets.
Energy initiatives include:
- strengthening the development of offshore wind farms in Europe through the North Seas Countries' Offshore Grid Initiative;
- developing Smart Grids to promote energy savings and decentralized renewables;
- examining the guidelines for the Trans-European Networks for Energy Programme (TEN-E);
- negotiating the application of biomass and the criteria of biomass sustainability as an energy source.
Finally, there will be a revision of the regulation concerning energy aspects of the economic recovery plan, so that unused budgets can be redirected to energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.
The Belgian Presidency priorities within environmental issues will be:
- coordinating the joint EU stance within the framework of international climate change negotiations – focusing on the implementation of the Copenhagen Accord, as well as the EU's ambitions and strategies for the upcoming 16th Conference of Parties to the Convention of Climate Change (COP16) in Cancún, Mexico in December 2010.
- the possibility of changing the 20% reduction targets of greenhouse gas emissions to 30% and the best environmental policy instruments for:
* improving transparency, coordination and the application of existing environmental legislation;
* improving the application of legislation on waste in order to harmonize environmental inspection criteria,
to evaluate the effects of environmental reporting and to improve the environmental information system.
- the sustainable management of materials with the aim of efficient use of resources throughout their lifecycle – from raw materials to products to waste.
For more details on the Belgian EU Presidency, please click here.