Belgium will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 January to 31 June 2024.
The Programme of the incoming Belgian Presidency with the overall title “Protect, Strengthen, Prepare” has been published and the presents the following focus and activities:
- Overall objectives: The EU’s green transition agenda is driven by the urgent need to address the triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, coupled with the necessity to achieve a fair, resilient and circular society. With these crises having underscored the importance of decisive and holistic action, the European Green Deal has placed the green transition at the heart of all EU policy proposals. In this context, the Presidency will carry on the work on the EU’s Green Deal policy initiatives, ensuring that all policies are crafted and executed in line with environmental and climate objectives, all while embracing the ‘One World, One Health’ approach and taking forward this endeavour in the next Strategic Agenda.
- Regarding “Pursuing the Green Deal Objectives”: The Presidency aims at concluding essential legislative files, such as the proposal for a Union carbon removal certification scheme, and advancing inter-institutional negotiations on critical files, including the proposed Regulation on Packaging and Packaging Waste (PPWR), the review of the Air Quality Directive and of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive. The Presidency announces to also continue work on the proposed Green Claims Directive, the revision of the Waste Framework Directive, pursue the sound implementation of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and foster discussions on some of its aspects, such as the latest microplastics proposal and PFAS.
- Regarding “Driving the debate on Europe’s Green Future”: The Presidency will stimulate the debate on the EU green agenda beyond 2024 and explore suitable approaches to address climate change, circular economy, biodiversity and pollution nexus beyond 2024. It will facilitate the debate on the forthcoming Commission Communications on the EU 2040 climate target and on climate-related risks. The Presidency will foster a dialogue about the future of the transition to a circular economy, including ways to enhance sustainable resource management and further reduce the material footprint of EU consumption and production. One key aspect will be to establish a process to assess, consolidate and further develop its governance and monitoring system.
- Regarding “Ensuring the just transition”:
- The focus is on ensuring a high level of wellbeing for all, especially the needs of citizens and workers, as well as on tools necessary for a just transition.
- Regarding “Promoting Europe’s Green Ambitions on the global stage”, the Presidency strives, among other, for: Making progress towards an ambitious, legally binding international instrument to tackle plastic pollution. Following up on the outcome of the global stock take under the UN-FCCC. Maintaining a high ambition on biodiversity.
UNDER THE HEADLINE OF “INTERNAL MARKET AND INDUSTRY”, there is a strong focus on the green transition and circular economy more particularly. The Presidency announces:
- Prioritising a rapid and twin transition that reshapes its economic fabric, supports open strategic autonomy and fosters resilience to crises. The Presidency pursues a strong, resilient and inclusive green and digital transition including the finalisation of the related legislative packages. As European competitiveness faces increasing pressure, the EU’s response must create a level playing field for businesses, especially SMEs, enabling them to compete fairly both within Europe and on the global stage. This approach should provide fresh opportunities for businesses and workers to take an active part in the green transition and digital transformation. The Belgian Presidency will also foster comprehensive, future-ready visions for the EU’s internal market and industry policies.
- Advancing the EU’s Single Market and Industrial Competitiveness. The Presidency intends to conduct a thorough review on the functioning of the internal market and reflect on its future direction for the period 2024-2029. Works on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence and proposal for a Regulation on Forced Labour will be finalised. The European Industrial Policy with a focus on ecosystem and value chain approach shall be strengthened.
- Advancing Open Strategic Autonomy and The Twin Transition. The Green Deal Industrial Plan for the Net Zero Age (GDIP) and Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA) shall be finalised.
- Advancing a Sustainable and Circular Economy. Any remaining work on the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) shall be finalised and the untapped potential of the bioeconomy, circular manufacturing, circular materials and material footprint reduction will be explored.
This information is kindly shared by MedTech Europe.
