General Affairs Council to continue debate on financial perspectives
The EU General Affairs Council (GAC) will meet in Brussels today, on 29 May to continue discussions on the EU's new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), that is the Union budget for 2014-2020, and to make preparations for the European Council to be held at the end of June. Permanent Representative to the European Union, Ambassador Jan Store, will represent Finland at the meeting.
The General Affairs Council will have the first debate on the negotiating box covering the entire financial framework, including the Union's own resources. The discussion is expected to focus on the quality elements of the budget rather than the overall level of the financial framework proposal. The debate on the MFF will continue in June at the informal meeting of Ministers for European Affairs in Denmark on 10-11 June and at the General Affairs Council on 26 June.
The Commission's MFF proposal will be on the agenda at the level of the Heads of State or Government for the first time at the June European Council. Special attention will be paid to ideas on how the new MFF can best contribute to the creation of growth. The European Council is expected to approve procedural conclusions to guide the MFF process further. The talks are to continue in the autumn when the Cypriot Presidency will take the lead.
The General Affairs Council will begin preparations, on the basis of a provisional agenda, for the European Council to be held on 28-29 June. The next meeting of the Heads of State or Government is to focus on economic growth and job creation. The meeting will discuss national measures to foster successful conditions for growth and EU-level action utilising regulation. Particular attention will be paid to youth unemployment. The European Council meeting will be prepared in more detail at the General Affairs Council on 26 June.
The GAC will also have a discussion on the themes of the G20 Summit which will take place in Mexico on 18-19 June. The G20 Summit is to focus on issues such as global economic stabilisation; structural reforms promoting growth, employment and job creation; green growth; and commodity price volatility. Finland considers it important that the views of the EU Member States participating in the Summit and the European Commission are as coherent as possible.
Inquiries: Satu Keskinen, Counsellor, Adviser to the Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade, tel. +358 9 1602 2451 or +358 40 508 6722 and Päivi Mutanen-Pirttilä, Communications Specialist, tel. +358 40 705 3323, Prime Minister's Office