Rådsmøde nr. 3368 (almindelige anliggender) den 10. februar 2015

Europaudvalget 2015-16
Rådsmøde 3368 - almindelige anl.
Offentligt

Council of the

European Union

6085/15

(OR. en)

PRESSE 14

PR CO 6

OUTCOME OF THE COUNCIL MEETING

3368th Council meeting

General Affairs

Brussels, 10 February 2015

President

Edgars Rinkēvičs

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Latvia

PRESS

Rue de la Loi 175 B – 1048 BRUSSELS Tel.: +32 (0)2 281 6319 Fax: +32 (0)2 281 8026

[email protected] http://www.consilium.europa.eu/press

6085/15

Rådsmøde nr. 3368 (almindelige anliggender) den 10. februar 2015 - Bilag 1335915:

10 February 2015

CONTENTS

ITEMS DEBATED

Multiannual financial framework 2014-2020 ...................................................................................... 4

Presidency programme ......................................................................................................................... 4

Fight against terrorism ......................................................................................................................... 4

Preparation for the European Council .................................................................................................. 5

OTHER ITEMS APPROVED

GENERAL AFFAIRS

–

Rules of procedure of the General Court of the EU ................................................................................................ 6

Commission 2015 work programme ....................................................................................................................... 6

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

–

Cyber diplomacy ..................................................................................................................................................... 7

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS

–

Anti-money laundering ............................................................................................................................................ 7

Alternative investment fund managers .................................................................................................................... 7

JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS

–

Europol's work programme 2015 ............................................................................................................................ 8

UK accession to SIS II ............................................................................................................................................ 8

INTERNAL MARKET

–

Tractors - Type-approval requirements ................................................................................................................... 9



Where declarations, conclusions or resolutions have been formally adopted by the Council, this is indicated

in the heading for the item concerned and the text is placed between quotation marks.

 

Documents for which references are given in the text are available on the Council's Internet site

(http://www.consilium.europa.eu).

 

Acts adopted with statements for the Council minutes which may be released to the public are indicated by

an asterisk; these statements are available on the Council's Internet site or may be obtained from the Press

Office.

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Rådsmøde nr. 3368 (almindelige anliggender) den 10. februar 2015 - Bilag 1335915:

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FISHERIES

–

Agreement on access to Mayotte waters for fishing vessels from the Seychelles ................................................... 9

Partnership agreement between EU and São Tomé - Conclusion of the protocol ................................................... 9

TRANSPORT

–

Satellite navigation: closer cooperation with Morocco ......................................................................................... 10

EU-wide real-time traffic information services ..................................................................................................... 10

Shift2Rail Master Plan - leading rail innovation in Europe ................................................................................... 11

ENERGY

–

Gas transmission networks .................................................................................................................................... 11

RESEARCH

–

ITER experimental reactor: "Fusion for Energy" joint undertaking ...................................................................... 12

TRANSPARENCY

–

Public access to documents ................................................................................................................................... 12

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ITEMS DEBATED

Multiannual financial framework 2014-2020

The Council discussed a revision of the EU's multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2014-

2020 (5467/15) and took note of the state of play as outlined in a presidency note (5941/15). The

Council mandated the Permanent Representatives Committee to continue work on this file with a

view to reaching an agreement in the near future.

The aim of the revision is to allow the EU to transfer €21.1 billion of unused commitments for

certain funds from 2014 to subsequent years.

These commitments remained unused in 2014 because of the late adoption of EU programmes

jointly managed by the Commission and the member states. The programmes concerned are

supported by the structural funds, the cohesion fund, the European agricultural fund for rural

development, the European maritime and fisheries fund, the asylum, migration and integration fund,

and the internal security fund. Commitments are legal promises to spend money on activities whose

implementation extends over several financial years.

The MFF regulation adopted on 2 December 2013 obliges the EU to revise its multiannual financial

framework in the case of late adoption of programmes under shared management. The MFF

regulation also sets a deadline of 1 May 2015 for adopting the revision.

The Council must unanimously adopt the revised MFF regulation after having obtained the consent

of the European Parliament.

Presidency programme

The Latvian presidency presented, in public session, its

work programme

for the duration of its term

of office (January to July 2015). The Council held an exchange of views.

Fight against terrorism

Following the tragic events in Paris the Council discussed the fight against terrorism. It assessed the

actions undertaken so far and looked at the way forward.

The discussion was based on a presidency note (5860/15) which outlined the actions taken to date

and those planned in the immediate future. They include in particular the commitment of the

Foreign Affairs Council and the ministers for Justice and Home Affairs to act against terrorist

threats.

A trusted area of fundamental freedoms is one of the five priorities of the

Strategic Agenda for the

Union in Times of Change

approved by the European Council in June 2014.

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Preparation for the European Council

The Council examined a draft annotated agenda (5495/15), drawn up by the President of the

European Council in cooperation with the presidency and the Commission, for the European

Council meeting to be held on 19 and 20 March 2015.

The European Council will focus on:

–

the Energy Union, with a focus on security of supply and external relations

external relations, and in particular on Russia and the situation in Ukraine as well as on the

Eastern Partnership Summit to be held in Riga on 21-22 May 2015

other items, comprising the first phase of the 2015 European Semester

–

The annotated draft agenda will serve as the basis for draft conclusions, to be prepared in the run-up

to the meeting.

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Rådsmøde nr. 3368 (almindelige anliggender) den 10. februar 2015 - Bilag 1335915:

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OTHER ITEMS APPROVED

GENERAL AFFAIRS

Rules of procedure of the General Court of the EU

The Council approved new rules of procedure of the General Court of the EU, as set out in

(16724/14).

The new rules provide for procedural simplifications and allow the General Court to reduce the

duration of proceedings.

Commission 2015 work programme

The Council adopted the following conclusions on the Commission's annual work programme 2015

(5955/15):

"1.

The Council welcomes the Commission's 2015 Work Programme and the dialogue with

the Commission both in the run-up to its adoption and on the adopted programme. The

Council looks forward to strengthening the process in view of the 2016 Work Programme,

while respecting the Commission's right of initiative. In this context, the timely submission

of a detailed Commission letter of intent will be a key step in a strengthened dialogue

between the Council and the Commission on work ahead.

The Council welcomes the focus of the Commission's 2015 Work Programme on a set of

well-targeted priority initiatives broadly reflecting the Strategic Agenda. It looks forward

to the submission of concrete proposals in 2015, to which it will devote its full attention.

The Council takes note of the list of envisaged withdrawals and modifications, while

recalling its role and the role of its Presidency in setting the agenda and organizing

legislative work in the Council. The Commission's approach of thoroughly reviewing the

relevance of pending proposals is in line with the general objective of better regulation,

despite possible divergences of view on specific legislative files. The Council encourages

the Commission to apply the same approach in future Annual Work Programmes and to

engage in timely consultations with the co-legislators to that end, in order to ensure that

strategic priorities are respected."

At a lunch discussion with Commission Vice-President Timmermans ministers expressed concerns

about the intended withdrawal by the Commission of its proposals on waste and air quality. The

presidency indicated its readiness to continue work on both of these proposals.

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Cyber diplomacy

The Council adopted conclusions on cyber diplomacy as set out in

5610/15.

In the conclusions, the Council recognised that cyberspace issues offer significant opportunities, but

also pose continuously evolving challenges for EU external policies. It stressed the importance for

the EU and the member states of addressing these issues with a coherent international cyberspace

policy. It also affirmed that the same norms and values that the EU upholds offline should apply and

be protected in cyberspace.

The topics covered by the conclusions include: the promotion and protection of human rights in

cyberspace; the application of international law, the rule of law and norms of behaviour in

cyberspace; internet governance; enhancing the competitiveness and prosperity of the EU; cyber

capacity building and development; strategic engagement with key partners and international

organisations.

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS

Anti-money laundering

The Council approved an agreement with the European Parliament on strengthened rules to prevent

money laundering and terrorist financing.

For more details see the

press release.

Alternative investment fund managers

The Council decided not to object to the Commission's adoption of a regulation supplementing

directive 2011/61/EU on alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs) with regard to the

information to be provided by national competent authorities to the European Securities and

Markets Authority (ESMA).

Under article 67(3) of the AIFM directive, national competent authorities are required to report

quarterly to ESMA on the AIFMs that are managing and/or marketing AIFs under their supervision.

The regulation is a delegated act pursuant to article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.

It can now enter into force, unless the European Parliament objects.

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JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS

Europol's work programme 2015

The Council endorsed Europol's work programme for 2015 (5250/15) and will forward it to the

European Parliament for information.

The Work Programme is Europol’s annual business plan. Its purposes are to translate the

organisation’s five-year Strategy into annual objectives and to provide the basis for budgetary

planning. It is used to communicate the organisation’s objectives to Europol’s stakeholders in a

transparent and structured manner. The Work Programme objectives are also the basis for setting

individual objectives in Europol staff development plans.

This report is prepared each year by Europol's Management Board, as required by the Council

decision establishing the European Police Office, taking into account member states' operational

requirements and the budgetary and staffing implications for Europol.

UK accession to SIS II

The Council adopted an implementing decision on the putting into effect of the provisions of the

Schengen acquis on data protection and on the provisional putting into effect of parts of the

provisions of the Schengen acquis on the Schengen Information System (SIS) for the United

Kingdom (5481/15).

According to the decision, as from 13 April 2015 the United Kingdom will enter data into the SIS

and use SIS data.

Within six months from this date, evaluation visits should be carried out in the United Kingdom in

order to verify whether the SIS functions properly. Upon the successful completion of the

evaluations, the Council should, by the end of October 2015, examine the situation with a view to

adopting the implementing decision setting the date for the final putting into effect.

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INTERNAL MARKET

Tractors - Type-approval requirements

The Council decided not to oppose the entry into force of a Commission regulation supplementing

regulation 167/2013 with regard to vehicle safety requirements for the approval of agricultural and

forestry vehicles

(16758/14).

The Commission regulation is a delegated act, which may now enter into force unless the European

Parliament objects.

FISHERIES

Agreement on access to Mayotte waters for fishing vessels from the Seychelles

The Council adopted a decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the EU, of the agreement between

the European Union and the Republic of the Seychelles on access for fishing vessels flying the flag

of the Seychelles to waters and marine biological resources of Mayotte, under the jurisdiction of the

EU (7911/14).

This agreement follows the status change of Mayotte, which became an outermost region of the EU

on 1 January 2014. On that date the current exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Mayotte became EU

waters. This agreement will enable Seychelles-flagged vessels to have access to Mayotte from the

date of its signature. The fees paid by the Seychelles operators to obtain fishing authorisations to

exploit highly migratory species should be paid to Mayotte, following the previous practice. The

fees are meant to enable Mayotte to develop its management and control system, as well as for

fisheries governance and capacity building. The agreement was signed on 20 May 2014 and is

provisionally applied. The European Parliament gave its consent to the conclusion of this protocol

on 13 January 2015.

Partnership agreement between EU and São Tomé - Conclusion of the protocol

The Council adopted a decision on the conclusion of the Protocol setting out the fishing

opportunities and the financial contribution provided for by the fisheries partnership agreement

(FPA) between the EU and the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe (8585/14).

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The FPA in the fisheries sector between the EU and São Tomé was concluded in 2007. Following

the negotiations, a new protocol was signed by the Council and São Tomé on 23 May 2014. In order

to allow EU vessels to carry out fishing activities, the new protocol applied on a provisional basis

from that date, pending the completion of the procedures for its formal conclusion. The new

protocol is established for a period of 4 years. The European Parliament gave its consent to the

conclusion of this protocol on 13 January 2015.

TRANSPORT

Satellite navigation: closer cooperation with Morocco

The Council decided to allow the conclusion of a cooperation agreement on a civil global

navigation system (GNSS) with Morocco. The agreement will enhance cooperation in a number of

sectors related to the European satellite navigation programmes Galileo and EGNOS, such as

scientific research, industrial manufacturing and market development.

Council decision on the conclusion of the GNSS cooperation agreement with Morocco

EU-wide real-time traffic information services

The Council decided not to object to a Commission delegated regulation on EU-wide real-time

traffic information services. The draft regulation supplements directive 2010/40/EU, which is aimed

at speeding up the deployment of intelligent transport systems (ITS) across Europe.

The delegated regulation sets specifications for the cooperation of road authorities, road operators

and real-time traffic information service providers. Its aim is to ensure that road and traffic data are

accessible, up-to-date and re-usable for the provision of real-time traffic information services.

The regulation is a delegated act pursuant to article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.

This means that now that the Council has given its consent, the act can enter into force, unless the

European Parliament objects to it.

Draft Commission regulation on real-time traffic information services

Draft Commission regulation on real-time traffic information services - data categories

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Shift2Rail Master Plan - leading rail innovation in Europe

The Council endorsed a strategic Master Plan for the Shift2Rail Undertaking. Shift2Rail is a public-

private partnership that was set up in July 2014 to support the development of better rail services in

the EU. The first version of its Master Plan is a high-level strategic document but a later version

will include a list of key priorities and innovations required to achieve the Shift2Rail objectives.

The Master Plan - and subsequent changes to it - is first approved by the Shift2Rail Governing

Board, then endorsed by the Council and communicated to the European Parliament.

The Shift2Rail Undertaking is expected to become fully operational in the second half of 2015.

It will then manage all rail-focused research and innovation co-funded by the EU.