Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The General Affairs Council ministerial meeting will be held in Brussels on Tuesday. A European statement said that the main agenda item is preparing for the European Council meeting in June, attended by the leaders of the member states. The Council will begin preparations for the European Council summit, scheduled for June 26 and 27, 2025, by discussing a detailed draft agenda.
Annual Dialogue on the Rule of Law
Ministers will hold a country-specific discussion within the framework of the annual dialogue on the rule of law, focusing on the rule of law situation in Belgium, Finland, Slovakia, and Sweden.
Catalan, Basque, and Galician
The Council will discuss Spain's request to include Catalan, Basque, and Galician in Regulation No. 1/1958, which regulates the language system in the European Union. Article 7 Procedure on Hungary
Ministers will hold their eighth hearing on Hungary as part of the Article 7 Procedure, established following a motion adopted by the European Parliament in September 2018. This follows a proposal for a Council decision determining, in accordance with Article 7(1) of the Treaty on European Union, that there is a clear risk of Hungary seriously violating the values ​​on which the Union is founded.
The Union is based on the values ​​referred to in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, which are shared by Member States and include respect for democracy, the rule of law, and human rights. According to Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union, accession to the Union requires respect for and promotion of the values ​​referred to in Article 2.
Hungary's accession was a voluntary act based on a sovereign decision and enjoyed broad consensus across the Hungarian political spectrum.
In its adopted motion, the European Parliament expressed its concerns regarding the situation in Hungary. In particular, the main concerns related to the functioning of the constitutional and electoral system, the independence of the judiciary and other institutions, the rights of judges, corruption and conflicts of interest, privacy and data protection, freedom of expression, academic freedom, freedom of religion, freedom of association, the right to equal treatment, the rights of persons belonging to minorities, including Roma and Jews, and protection against hate speech against these minorities, the fundamental rights of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees, and economic and social rights.
The European Parliament also noted that the Hungarian authorities were always willing to discuss the legality of any specific measure, but had not taken all the actions recommended in its previous resolutions.
In its resolution of 17 May 2017 on the situation in Hungary, the European Parliament stated that the current situation in Hungary presents a clear risk of a serious violation of the values ​​referred to in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union and warrants the triggering of the Article 7(1) of the Treaty on European Union procedure. Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
Ministers responsible for European affairs will be invited to adopt a common approach to simplifying and strengthening regulations related to the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), as part of the Commission's first comprehensive simplification package.
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is an EU policy designed to set a fair price for carbon emissions from carbon-intensive goods entering the EU. It aims to counter carbon leakage by imposing a charge on the embedded carbon content of certain imports, equalizing the carbon price between domestic products and imports. The mechanism encourages cleaner industrial production in non-EU countries and is a key part of the EU's climate strategy. The mechanism entered into force on 17 May 2023 and will be fully implemented by 1 October 2023. In addition, the UK also plans to implement its own Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism by 2027.