Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union | |
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Council of the European Union | |
Website | belgium24 |
Presidency trio | |
Belgium currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union . [1] [2] [3] [4] It is scheduled to hold a six-month term covering the first half of 2024. [1] [2] The presidency is the second of three presidencies making up a presidency trio, which began with the presidency of Spain, and is scheduled to be followed by that of Hungary. [5] [6] It is the 13th time Belgium has held the presidency. [1] [7] The motto that was chosen for the presidency is "Protect, Strengthen, Prepare". [8] [1]
The Belgian presidency plans to focus on six main areas of interest: (1) bolstering the union's work on society and its health, (2) following a proper green transition, (3) improving the union's economic competitiveness, (4) protecting democracy and the rule of law, (5) securing the union's people and its borders, and (6) strengthening the union's place in the world. [9] [8]
Both the 2024 Belgian federal election and the 2024 European Parliament election are scheduled for early June, during the final month of Belgium's presidency. [10] [4] As the last plenary session of the European Parliament is planned to occur in April, the presidency will only have a few months to resolve more than 100 open issues before the elections dominate the agenda. [10] [7]
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