site.btaAmbassador Meurice Outlines Priorities of Belgian EU Presidency

“Belgium assumed the Presidency of the Council of the European Union with a large dose of responsibility and ambition. The ambition stems from our view that our DNA is intertwined with the DNA of Europe. Our country will aim to be recognized by the other EU countries as “an honest broker,” said Belgian Ambassador here Frederic Meurice, addressing a meeting of the EU club at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) on Monday to mark the start of the Belgian EU Presidency.

The meeting was attended by Spanish Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Jaione Cereijo and Bulgarian Foreign Ministry Director for Foreign Economic Relations and Development Cooperation Radka Balabanova. The discussion was moderated by Ingrid Shikova, who chairs the EU Club at the BCCI and co-founded the European Studies Department of Sofia University.

Ambassador Meurice noted that Belgium was the first country to hold the rotating EU presidency in 1959 and this will be its 12th time.

The Belgian EU Presidency will take place against the backdrop of a number of challenges, including the Russian aggression in Ukraine, the war in Gaza, the pandemic, the energy crisis, disinformation and severe weather.   

Another challenge arises from the fact that the EU is at the end of an institutional cycle and upcoming elections to the European Parliament and later a new lineup of the European Commission. 

Belgium will aim to close as many open dossiers as possible before the start of the new institutional cycle in the Union. On the other hand Belgium has set itself the task to outline the agenda and the priorities before the new composition of the European Commission, including talks about EU’s strategic vision. In this sense Ambassador Meurice described as strategic the role of the Belgian EU Presidency. 

Among the highlights in the next six months will be the EU enlargement and talks on the future shape of the EU budget.

Belgium’s legislative agenda includes the Pact on Migration and Asylum, the Schengen Borders Code, measures in support of national economies to overcome disruptions to the Single Market, gender equality at work, supply and access to medicines, and regulation of pesticides. 

Belgium will focus its efforts on strengthening the rule of law, democracy and solidarity in the EU, boosting the competitiveness of the European economy, the implementation of the green and just transition, reinforcing social and health protection, protection of its borders and citizens and spreading the idea of Global Europe.  

Ambassador Meurice commended Spain for the work accomplished during the six months of its EU Presidency.