EU presidencies
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Advocacy concerning actions of the of Presidency of the Council of the EU
Presidency of the Council of the EU
The Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) ensures continuity of the EU agenda and Council’s legislative work.
A different EU member state takes over the leadership of the Council every 6 months and prepares the work programme. This is also known as the Rotating Presidency of the Council. The chart below outlines upcoming presidencies and full rotation calendar can be found here.
Member states work closely in “trios” over the period of 18 months. The trios set up joint long-term goals and adopt a common agenda guided by current priorities of the Council.
The current Strategic Agenda outlines presidency outlines work of the German-Portuguese-Slovenian (DE-PT-SL) trio for the time period until 31st December 2021. Even though trios share long-term goals, each presidency prepares a more detailed 6-month programme based informed by its national priorities.
In general, main tasks of each Presidency include:
1. Planning and chairing meetings in the Council and its preparatory bodies
2. Representing the Council in relations with other EU institutions (trying to reach agreement on legislative files with the European Parliament and the Commission).
Negotiation meetings and trilogues (negotiations between representatives of the European Parliament, Council and the Commission) are valuable opportunities to influence the shape and scope of the legislation. In addition, the presidency organises various formal and informal meetings in Brussels and in the country of the presidency. They put forward issues of national/regional interests through events, high level meetings and proposals.
You can also follow NGO related news and resources linked the current and previous presidencies posted on the Presidency Project website.
Why does it matter?
First of all, it is important to realise that the EU has an impact on the rights of children in migration which presents opportunities for advocacy during the presidency!
Many national measures concerning migrant children are directly influenced by the EU legislations, policies and funds. While Member States reserve competence on general child welfare and child protection systems, they share competences with the EU on the issues of international protection and migration.
Even though the presidencies are to stay neutral and impartial, as they act as “honest brokers”, they can increase awareness and visibility of specific issues by deciding on the priorities of their agenda. The Member state holding the presidency may be able to focus the discussion on issues of its particular interest and gets privileged access to information regarding current affairs.
One of the ways a Presidency can exert strong political influence is by leading the coordination of Council Conclusions or Recommendations. While not legally binding, these documents set out political commitments or positions of all Member States. For instance, the Maltese Presidency in the first half of 2017 led the adoption of Council conclusions on the promotion and protection of the rights of the child. For more information on the significant of these documents, please check the following website.
If you are active in the member state that is about to take over the presidency (see the above) you can take steps to advocate towards your government priorities and challenges that should be discussed at EU level. It is important to follow respective agendas of your country presidencies to identify relevant areas for potential advocacy and cooperation (e.g. migration, asylum, child rights, child protection). The earlier you can engage with them, the more chance you have to influence the agenda.
You might consider organising an event in cooperation with your country’s presidency. These joint events can raise the political visibility. It is important to plan such events well in advance (at least 12 months ahead). You could explore involving other EU bodies, such as the European Parliament or the European Commission.
What can you do?
Successful past involvement of presidencies
Over the last years, several examples of successful advocacy towards Presidencies can be found in the field of children of migration. As further described below, in some cases actions (e.g. events, meetings) led to Council Recommendations.
Already in 2009, the protection of unaccompanied and separated minors was one of the priorities of Swedish presidency , resulting among others in the event on the Role of the Stockholm Programme in Protection of Unaccompanied and Separated Children. An advocacy paper, which can be found here was put together to serve as a recommendation for the Swedish presidency.
In December 2010, Belgian presidency organized a seminar about unaccompanied children crossing the external borders of the EU. That event provided a platform to exchange best practices on detection, identification and protection of unaccompanied minors and was an opportunity to draft recommendations on the topic, see for instance Save the Children’s Recommendations.
Similarly, the protection of children’s rights was placed high on the priority list of Estonian presidency in 2016, which resulted in a conference on Children's Rights in the Migration Crisis and in the Digital Environment organized in the framework of the chairmanship with support of civil society organizations. A particularly successful advocacy took place during the Maltese Presidency in 2017. Missing Children Europe in cooperation with Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society organised that year the first edition of Lost in Migration conference organized (26-27 January). The conference addressed challenges regarding protection of migrant children’s rights and became a platform for discussion on the topic of children on the move going missing. It was attended by key stakeholders including representatives of EU institutions. It ultimately led to the Council Recommendations on Protecting Children from Disappearance (2017).