EXPERIENCES OF FINLANDS EU PRESIDENCY

1
EXPERIENCES OF FINLANDS EU PRESIDENCY

2
LOGO FOR FINLANDS PRESIDENCY

• Growth
• Development
• New direction forward
• Openness

3
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PRESIDENCY

• Leading the Councils work
• organisation
• chairing meetings
• main aim is to reach decisions
• Relations with the other institutions
• External representation of the Union
• third countries
• international organisations

4
Role of the presidency

• organizing and leading the Councils work
• PREPARATION and chairing over 2000 meetings
• relations with the other institutions (EP!)
• EP plenary committees 50 sessions
  committees co-decision work
• external representation of the Union
• over 1000 meetings in UN/NYC, GEN etc. HOMS,
  bilaterals

5
WHO AND WHERE

• European Council
• Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen
• The Council of Ministers
• All other Ministers
• Committee of permanent representatives (Coreper I
  and Coreper II)
• Working groups and committees

6
EU-coordination in Finland

• EU-affairs in Prime Ministers Office
• EU-Secretariat (arranging meetings in Finland)
• MFA and other ministries
• Permanent Representation in Brussels
• Embassies

7
HELSINKI

• Staff
• 50-70 new recruitments in ministries
• EU-presidency secretariat 30-40 persons
• Structure
• existing mechanisms used
• ad hoc groups presidency general, Lahti summit,
  Brussels summit, 3rd country summits, horizontal
  issues energy external, immigration
  external, Lisbon strategy

8
EMBASSIES

• BRUSSELS Permanent representation
• staff increased from 100 to 160 (in place 1 year
  before the start)
• must be in lead (what, when and specially how)
• EMBASSIES
• UN/NYC, GEN etc. 2-4 new recruitments
• bilateral embassies none
• Role of the embassies

9
Organizational aspects presidency arrangements
MINISTERS Cabinet Committee on EU Affairs
PM 4 Ministers

• Helsinki Bxl

EU Committee
COM
Presidency Steering Group
Permi. Rep.
EU Secretariat
EU Presidency Secr.
Council Sec.
MFA and other ministries
EP
10
EXCHANGE PROGRAMS

• EU-trainees 45 persons / 2 years
• from other EU-countries 5-10 the whole time
  students
• role and usefulness of the trainees

11
Summary organisation

• substance preparation normal structures used
• new body (presidency secretariat) for meetings
  in Finland
• biggest change in PR Brussels
• multilateral embassies have heavy workload
• staffing 100 quality more important than
  quantity

12

• PRACTICAL
• ARRANGEMENTS
• budget
• training

13

• BUDGET
• personnel 26 meuros
• meetings in Finland 34 meuros ministries own
  budgets
• (most expensive Asem, Lahti informal summit,
  Tampere Euromed and Brussels EC)
• security 11 meuros
• In total /- 75 meuros

14

• TRAINING
• mainly working group chairs but also ministers
  (in 1999 larger target group)
• knowledge of European institutions, procedures
  incl. co-decision, negotiation skills,
  languages...
• learning by doing
• handbooks
• contact lists etc.

15
Communication

• Effectivity
• Web page
• Media relations
• Contacts

16
Summary practicalities

• realistic budget from the beginning
• training used to make everybody expert on EU
• pragmatic handbooks
• use press
• Use web to maximum

17

• PREPARATION
• timing
• principles
• agenda
• calendar
• procedures

18
Planning timeline
Approval of personnel mtgs budget
Preliminary budget
Framework budget
Estimation of human resources
Trainee programme
I draft on 3rd country mtgs
Approval of mtgs
Draft calendar
Extra-staff to PermRep
Web open
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Web-steer. group
AT-FI Prg FI Mtg calendar public
Presidency Steering Group
Mtg Agendas
Head of Presd. Sec.
Training
Contacts COM, domestic authorities, ministries,
AT DE
Planning discussions with ministries
Language regimes
Web- team
19
PRINCIPLES

• Continuity take existing agenda
• Relevance - need of decisions at the EU-level
• Efficiency - clear division of work and minimum
  hierarchy
• Transparency open sessions, also in daily work

20
AGENDA

• Common program with Austria
• working method timing
• experiences
• Presidency programs for internal use
• Definition of concrete goals
• to make sure we have common goals
• to make sure no national problems exist
• Agendas
• working groups, Corepers, Council, Summits
• Role of PR

21
CALENDAR

• Formal meetings
• first draft 2-3 yrs before, PR
• mostly standard timing
• method summits gt councils gt corepers
• challenge to have balance
• other calendars

22
HOW THE PRESIDENCY IS RUN PROCEDURES

• Role of capital role of Permanent
  Representation
• Co-operation with PR
• no instructions
• quick reporting
• briefing notes
• videoconferences
• Respect of council rules of procedure
• no go, if alone
• conduct of the meeting
• timing incl. documents

23

• Briefing of embassies in Helsinki
• centralized
• Finnish embassies abroad
• EU member states vs. third countries
• information!
• Other third countries (where no FI embassies
  exist)
• over 100 (DE 70, 6 other countries)

24
Summary preparation

• visits before presidency (numerous)
• preparing common programme process more useful
  than end result
• updates, more detailed and more political
  national papers needed
• ministers and PMs public appearances
• agendas in the hands of PR
• balanced calendar in time
• agree on the procedures beforehand who does what
  when and how
• important shared goals, 100 handover, quick
  flow of information

25
MAJORITY OF MEETINGS IN BRUSSELS

• European Council
• 14-15 December
• Approximately 25 Formal Councils planned in
  Brussels
• Altogether 3300 working groups

26
Finland 133 meetings

• Asem 6
• Lahti Informal Summit
• 6 Summits with 3rd countries
• Euromed Foreign Ministers
• 10 Informal Councils
• Senior Officials mtgs, seminars etc
• Total 133 in Finland

27
SIX EU THIRD COUNTRY SUMMITS

• EU Russia
• EU Canada
• EU Republic of Korea
• EU India
• EU Ukraine
• EU - China

28
GENERAL GUIDELINES

• Taking forward the European agenda. Concentration
  on key challenges.
• Principles in the Councils work coherence,
  efficiency, transparency
• Emphasis on better regulation
• Support for the Union institutions

29
KEY ISSUES

• The future of Europe
• Enlargement
• Increasing competitiveness
• Mid-term review of the Haag
• Climate change
• External Affairs
• Middle East
• Russia
• Western Balkans
• ASEM

30
FUTURE OF EUROPE

• The Constitutional Treaty
• Guidelines from the June European Council
• Bilateral, confidential discussions with member
  states conclusions provide a basis for future
  work
• Analysis was presented to the German Presidency

31
ENLARGEMENT

• General enlargement debate
• Bulgaria and Romania
• Decision 1.1.2007 accession
• Turkey and Croatia
• Screening process
• - Turkey freezing of some negotiating chapters

32
IMPROVING COMPETITIVENESS

• Further development of internal market
• A broad-based innovation policy
• Decision on key legislative dossiers services
  directive, REACH
• Working time directive no success

33
JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS

• Mid-term review of the Haag Programme Political
  agreement on priorities in the Area of Freedom,
  Security and Justice
• Finland did not reach its aim to improve
  decision-making in police and judicial areas
• Schengen-preparations
• Guidelines on migration (European Council Dec.

34
ENERGY

• External relations a priority energy issues on
  the agenda at the Informal Summit in Lahti
• Agreement that energy issues will be on the
  agenda at Summits with 3rd countries
• EU-Russia-cooperation in energy issues discussed
  (EU-RUS-summit)
• Decision on the network of energy security
  correspondents

35
CLIMATE CHANGE

• EU reached its main negotiation objectives at the
  UN Climate Change Conference held in Nairobi in
  November.
• Third country meetings used as an opportunity to
  keep up the momentum created in Montreal.
• The declaration on Climate Change adopted between
  Asian and European countries, dialogue launched
  with the USA on climate issues

36
MIDDLE EAST

• Crisis in Lebanon difficult start for the
  Presidency
• EU central role in negotiations
• Unified EU-position
• EU key role in strengthening the peace-keeping
  operation and in humanitarian aid

37
RUSSIA

• Promotion of EU-RUS relations
• PPC-meetings key instruments 5 ministerials held
  (new ones environment and transport)
• PCA agreement on the negotiation mandate failed
  (no concensus among the EU)
• Northern Dimension adoption of a new political
  document
• Agreement on the phasing-out of charges for
  overflying Siberia

38
WESTERN BALKANS

• Demanding agenda
• The future status of Kosovo main challenge
• Support to UN led process
• The Unions role in Kosovo
• Serbia
• opening of a political dialogue two ministerial
  level Troika meetings

39
ASEM 6 Summit

• Asia-Europe-Meeting biggest international
  conference held in Finland
• Decision on the enlargement of ASEM
• First declaration on climate change

40
(No Transcript)
41
Results of the Finnish EU-presidency

• successful, boring, balanced,
  progressive, professional
• Finland satisfied with the results
• Difficult start (Lebanon crisis)
• Successes enlargement, Middle East, climate
  change, energy, REACH-regulation, services
  directive
• Disappointments working time directive,
  EU-Russia-cooperation with regard to
  post-PCA-mandate, cooperation in Justice and Home
  Affairs

42
What was different compared with 1999 ?

• More than we thought ....
• mood
• EU agenda
• players
• our own staff
• institutions (EP and cion in 1999)

43
TOP TEN OF THE PRESICENCY TEAM

• Important support from the top
• Start planning early proactivity
• Right people, right timing
• Pragmatic solutions
• Knowledge of substance and procedures (also
  unwritten ones)
• Know key players contacts with MS, EP,
  commission and secretariat
• Concrete and realistic objectives and stick to
  them (unless force majeure)
• Do footwork - 90 of the work is done between the
  meetings
• Be available, transparent and reliable
• Flow of information - press contacts!

44

• FUTURE

45
EU 2007-2014 a guess
FR
New EP New Commission 5 y.
Int.gov. Conf./ratifications New treaty?
Constitutional treaty
Membership of Croatia? Turkey ?
New applications Balkan, Ukraine? Macedonia ?
Enlargement
Discussion paper Draft of the next
Financial Perspective negotiations
(Agriculture, cohesion policy)
Budget reform
New FP
Enlarging the Euro Area
CY, ML SK . ?... HU
? CZ
Post-Kioto 2012 int. negotiations
Energyclimatechange
Climate
Lissabon (meeting every spring).. Sustainable
Development Strategy (2007/09/11)
Elections
46
(No Transcript)