General Affairs Council, 10 July 2023

Main results

EU’s long-term budget

The Council held a policy debate on the mid-term revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027, proposed by the Commission on 20 June 2023.

The Commission presented the package to the Council. Ministers provided their initial comments on its main elements:

• the creation of a Ukraine facility for 2024-2027
• the proposed additional funds to address migration pressures and external challenges
• the setting up of a Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) to promote the EU’s long-term competitiveness on critical technologies
• the proposed adjustments related to the surge in interest rates

The General Affairs Council is expected to hold another policy debate on the proposed revision of the EU’s long-term budget at its meeting on 19 September.

• Revision of the MFF 2021-2027 (European Commission)
• Commission communication and legislative proposals (European Commission)

Annual rule of law dialogue

The presidency presented its plans for work on the evaluation of the Council’s annual rule of law dialogue announced in the presidency conclusions of 19 November 2019.

Since then, a more structured approach to the dialogue has been developed, which involves regular horizontal and country-specific discussions on rule of law developments across the EU, making use of the Commission’s annual rule of law reports.

The aim of the work in the coming months is to reach consensus on a set of Council conclusions on the evaluation by the end of 2023.

• Presidency conclusions - Evaluation of the annual rule of law dialogue, 19 November 2019

Presidency priorities

The presidency also presented to ministers the priorities for its term of office.

Within the remit of the General Affairs Council, the main lines of action include:

• various initiatives to bring Europe closer to citizens
• taking forward the accession process of candidate countries
• continuing with the follow-up to the Conference on the Future of Europe, including discussions on the extension of qualified majority voting, and preparing the EU for future enlargement
• developing relations with the UK, whilst ensuring compliance with the existing agreements
• continuing work on rule of law related issues
• taking forward legislative work to strengthen European democracy
• addressing the EU’s demographic challenges

• Spanish presidency priorities
• Spanish presidency programme

Rule of law report 2023

Under ‘Any other business’, the Commission presented its 2023 rule of law report, published on 5 July 2023.

The report examines developments across all member states in four key areas for the rule of law: the justice system, the anti-corruption framework, media pluralism and freedom, and other institutional issues related to checks and balances. It also includes recommendations for member states.

The Council is expected to hold a more detailed discussion on the horizontal chapter of the Commission’s rule of law report in September. A country-specific discussion, covering five member states, is scheduled for October.

• 2023 Rule of law report (European Commission)

Interinstitutional ethics body

Under ‘Any other business’, the Commission also briefed ministers on its proposal to establish an interinstitutional ethics body, presented on 8 June 2023.

A kick-off political meeting on the Commission’s proposal took place with institutional representatives on 7 July.

A detailed examination of the proposal will now start in the Council preparatory bodies.

• EU Ethics Body (European Commission)