| Preparations under way for the Belgian EU presidency in 2010 |
On Friday, at the suggestion of Prime Minister Yves Leterme, Foreign Minister Karel De Gucht and State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Olivier Chastel, the Belgian Council of Ministers approved a memo on preparations for the Belgian presidency of the European Union in 2010.
Under the trio presidency system that was introduced in 2006, preparations for EU presidencies now have to be launched even earlier than in the past, and the future Spanish, Belgian and Hungarian presidencies need time to consolidate their respective projects and priorities before presenting the trio's agenda to the EU Council of Ministers in November 2009. The relevant ministries will all be involved in the preparations and consolidation work, as will the respective authorities at Region and Community level.
Special emphasis will be placed on consulting citizens and representatives of civil society, which will be invited to take part in the preparations. A 2010 Task Force and a special website will be set up to encourage citizen participation. A Monitoring Group will draw up a draft agenda and monitor preparatory activities, while a Logistics Coordinator will manage the practical, logistical and financial aspects. These bodies will be up and running from September so that the Belgian presidency's draft agenda can be finalised during the first quarter of 2009.
Minister De Gucht stressed that the lack of certainty as to the date on which the Lisbon Treaty will enter into force would make preparations difficult, but he firmly supported a proactive approach: "We may well turn out to be part of the first trio of presidencies to benefit from the full support of the Union's new institutional and decision-making instruments. My aim is to ensure that we make full use of these tools to become even more efficient and tackle the major political, economic, social and environmental issues facing Europe".
Olivier Chastel, who has been instructed to help the Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs prepare for the Belgian EU presidency, believes that consulting citizens is of paramount importance: "It is crucial that we set up the appropriate administrative bodies and procedures, not only to ensure that the federal government and other federal entities can cooperate efficiently on drawing up a realistically ambitious programme, but also to guarantee that the adopted programme involves civil society to the right extent and effectively takes account of citizens' needs and aspirations".
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