Internal market
A more competitive and more digital Europe, further integrating the single market, improving enforcement of EU rules, and promoting mutual trust and free movement of goods and services will be the Presidency's key priorities, Economy Minister Dana Reizniece-Ozola told the Internal Market Committee on Wednesday 21 January.
Internal market MEPs welcomed the first-ever Latvian Presidency of EU Council and urged it to spare no effort to break Council deadlock over the "made in" regulation and the telecoms package. They backed the Presidency's pledges to advance digital single market initiatives, ensure that the services directive is properly implemented, and find compromises on network and information security and package travel rules.
Development
The Presidency's development priorities are tackling crises in Syria and Ukraine and the Ebola epidemic in Western Africa, Parliamentary State Secretary for European Affairs Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica told the Development Committee on Wednesday. MEPs urged Latvia to seize the opportunity of European Year for Development 2015 to push for an end to the "chronic underfinancing of development" and to strengthen the link between humanitarian and development aid by looking for long term solutions, such as investing in health care systems in African countries.
Justice and home affairs
Making progress on the data protection package, towards achieving a negotiating mandate for the Council, will be the Presidency's first priority, Justice Minister Dzintars Rasnačs, assured the Justice and Home Affairs Committee on Wednesday. Other priorities will be work on protecting the EU's financial interests and the rights of suspects in criminal law. Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis said the Presidency is open to dialogue to make progress on the EU PNR proposal, based on respect for human rights and freedoms. Work on updating the EU Internal Security Strategy and the new laws governing Europol and CEPOL will also continue, he added. On migration and asylum, he stressed the need for a common EU approach to human smuggling in the Mediterranean and said that work on a single asylum system must be taken further.
Replying to questions on the data protection package, Justice Minister Dzintars Rasnačs said that trialogues (three-way talks between Parliament, Council and Commission) should be possible only "after the June Council", but stressed member states' willingness to move ahead with this file.
On EU PNR proposal, Mr Kozlovskis mentioned that "good practices" on the use of PNR by member states who have already introduced their own systems should be discussed at the 29 January informal Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting. He assured MEPs that "the objective is to provide for data protection and respect for fundamental rights". On migration, he told MEPs that the Presidency would build on the work of previous presidencies and highlighted its plans to fight human smuggling.
Transport and tourism
"We want to make progress on the technical pillar of the 4th railway package our priority, but work on every part of it will continue" Transport Minister Andrijs Matīss told the Transport and Tourism Committee on Wednesday. The Presidency will pursue work on the Single European Sky 2+ package and air passenger rights, and also on the ports proposal, in which it will seek to ensure proper financial transparency and take account of the differing stages of development of member states' ports, he said. Investment in and development of the TEN-T network will be discussed at a ministerial meeting in March and the June Transport Council will address road safety issues, he announced.
MEPs stressed that the Gibraltar issue needs to be resolved to permit progress on aviation files. Some asked whether the Presidency would consider splitting the railway package, others how the introduction of minimum wages in Germany would affect transport operators from other member states operating in Germany. MEPs also quizzed Mr Matīss on his plans to address cuts in transport sector emissions and tackle social dumping in the transport sector.
Industry, research and energy
"Our approach is to reduce roaming charges gradually, as there are different conditions in the member states" said Transport Minister Anrijs Matīss, in Wednesday morning's debate on Presidency priorities for the telecoms package and ICT. Three-party talks (Parliament, Council and Commission) could be held In March on the Network Information Security (NIS) proposals, with the aim of approving the directive by July, he suggested. The "digital agenda" is a Presidency priority and a Competition Council meeting in May will address the various aspects of this comprehensive topic, he announced.
Education and Science Minister Mārīte Seile presented the Presidency's four research and space priorities: linking the Innovation Union and the European Research Area, further developing the research area, the digital elements of research innovation, and a comprehensive space policy.
Constitutional affairs
A more active digital Europe, with better relations between EU institutions and citizens, is a key Presidency goal, Zanda Kalnina-Lukaševica, Parliamentary Secretary to the Latvian Foreign Minister, told the Constitutional Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
Striking the right balance between safety and transparency, EU accession to the Human Rights Convention and possible improvements to the citizen's initiative and interinstitutional cooperation between Parliament, Council and Commission were among the priorities discussed with MEPs.
Cohesion policy
Cohesion policy is still one of the most important investment policies geared to creating growth and jobs, Finance Minister Jānis Reirs told the Regional Development Committee on Tuesday, underlining that EU funds made up 70% of public investment in his own country. The Presidency aims to ensure that all the preconditions are met for the smooth start of the new cohesion policy for 2014-2020, including agreeing on budgetary amendments needed to approve the delayed remaining operational programmes, he said, adding that it would also pay particular attention to strengthening the role of small- and medium-sized cities, as part of an EU Urban Agenda.
MEPs reiterated their demand for a proper cohesion policy Council formation and asked about the linkage and synergy between cohesion policy and the Commission's Strategic Investment Plan ("Juncker-Plan"), warning that if, with these combined funds, the EU fails to re-launch the economy, it will lose its credibility in the eyes of the electorate. Mr Reirs replied that the "Juncker-Plan" will not become a "second Cohesion Policy" but complement existing programmes, and added that another Presidency priority is to pursue work on macro-regional strategic initiatives.
Women's rights and gender equality
The Presidency will take an integrative approach to the issue of equality between women and men, building it into all policy areas, but especially employment, social and health policies, Welfare Minister Uldis Augulis told the Women's Rights and Gender Equality Committee on Monday.
His priorities include ensuring equal pay for women and men, fighting exclusion and poverty, reconciling work and family life and reducing pension gaps between women and men. The Presidency will urge EU member states to ratify and implement the Istanbul Convention on preventing violence against women. "We will seek compromise in the Council to support the women on company boards directive, so as to get more women into top positions", he added.
Finally, he reiterated the importance of the proposed maternity leave directive, but doubted that the Council would come up with a common agreement on it. Instead, "what we need is new initiative and something more modern", he said.
Legal affairs
Reaching agreements with Parliament on the trade mark package and the small claims procedure proposals will be among Presidency priorities in the justice field Justice Minister Dzintars Rasnačs told to the Legal Affairs Committee on Tuesday. The Presidency also aims to make progress on the proposal to simplify acceptance of certain public documents and on plans to increase number of judges at the General Court of the European Court of Justice.
MEPs quizzed Mr Rasnačs on the interinstitutional agreement on better regulation, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty on access for visually impaired people to published works, single-member companies, insolvency of natural persons and priorities in the field of family law.
Culture and education
Culture and creative industries are an engine of economic growth and the Presidency will focus on bridging them to foster their development in Europe, Culture Minister Dace Melbārde told the Culture and Education Committee on Monday. Answering MEPs' questions, she underlined the importance of technologies in broadening access to digital content and the diversity of broadcasting material. The Presidency will work to build consensus around the proposed "cultural exception" in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks, she added.
The Presidency aims to consolidate the role of education and training in delivering skills that the labour market needs, in line with Agenda 2020, said Education and Science MinisterMārīte Seile. It will also seek to strengthen informal education, including social skills that are essential for working life. Replying to MEPs' questions, she added that the Presidency would prepare a coordinated position on the work of the Anti-Doping Agency and looks for ways to move forward with the European Convention on the Manipulation of Sport Competitions.
Foreign affairs
EU enlargement talks will "advance where possible" promised Foreign Affairs Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs, presenting the Presidency's priorities to the Foreign Affairs Committee on Monday. He hoped to open the first negotiating chapters with Serbia, sign a stabilization and association agreement with Kosovo, open new chapters in talks with Montenegro and achieve progress with Turkey, should it "show commitment to EU values".
MEPs asked whether progress could be expected with Bosnia and Hercegovina. Some worried that Latvia's restrictions on the use of Russian could affect relations with Russia, but also asked what would be done to implement the Ukraine ceasefire. Other questions concerned Latvia's aims for the EU Eastern Partnership summit in Riga in May, fighting terrorism, engaging Muslim societies to counter radicalization and support for peace in Syria and Libya.
REF. : 20150119IPR10104
