EUU, Alm.del - 2024-25 - Bilag 623: Referat fra COSAC-formandsmøde og Trojka-møde 3-4/7-25 i København

Europaudvalget 2024-25
EUU Alm.del Bilag 623
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MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE PRESIDENTIAL TROIKA OF COSAC

OPENHAGEN

, D

ENMARK

, 3 J

ULY

2025

PRESENT AT THE MEETING

CHAIR: Ms Brigitte KLINTSKOV JERKEL, Chair of the European Affairs Committee of the

Danish

Folketing;

Mr Henrik MØLLER, Vice-Chair of the European Affairs Committee of the Danish

Folketing;

Ms Christiana EROTOKRITOU, Member of the House Standing Committee on Foreign and

European Affairs of the Cyprus

Vouli ton Antiprosopon;

Ms Agnieszka POMASKA, Chair of the EU Affairs Committee of the Polish

Sejm;

Ms Gabriela MORAWSKA-STANECKA, Vice-Chair of the Committee of EU Affairs of the

Polish

Senat;

Mr Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, Vice-President of the European Parliament.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

Ms KLINTSKOV JERKEL extended words of welcome to the participants of the meeting, in

particular to Ms EROTOKRITOU who was participating in the Troika for the first time.

1. ADOPTION OF THE DRAFT AGENDA OF THE MEETING OF THE

PRESIDENTIAL TROIKA OF COSAC

Ms KLINTSKOV JERKEL introduced the

agenda of the Troika Meeting,

which had been

circulated to delegations on 20 June, and which was adopted without amendments.

2. APPROVAL OF THE DRAFT PROGRAMME OF THE MEETING OF THE

CHAIRPERSONS OF COSAC

EUU, Alm.del - 2024-25 - Bilag 623: Referat fra COSAC-formandsmøde og Trojka-møde 3-4/7-25 i København

Ms KLINTSKOV JERKEL presented the

agenda of the COSAC Chairpersons meeting.

The

agenda had been circulated to delegations on 20 June. Ms KLINTSKOV JERKEL noted that

the agenda contains two main sessions, focused on the priorities of the Danish Presidency, on

the one hand, and on Ukraine and European security, on the other. She also noted that the

agenda contained some procedural issues, including the approval of the outline of the 44th Bi-

annual Report of COSAC and the appointment of the Permanent Member of the COSAC

Secretariat for the period 2026/27.

Mr GONZÁLEZ PONS took the floor to endorse the agenda, which he found very ambitious

and relevant. He added that he had been informed that the presidential Troika would be invited

to Kyiv in September or October 2025 by the delegation from Ukraine, and noted that from the

European Parliament’s side he could see no objections. Ms KLINTSKOV JERKEL replied that

she had also been informed of this, and appreciated the initiative. The Presidency would look

at a possible date and get back to the issue.

3. DEBATE ON THE DRAFT PROGRAMME OF THE PLENARY MEETING OF

THE LXXIV COSAC

Ms KLINTSKOV JERKEL then went on to present the main points of the

agenda of the

LXXIV plenary meeting of COSAC.

A draft agenda had been circulated to delegations on 20

June. She highlighted that in addition to four sessions, the programme also contained a focus

session and a panel debate. For some of the sessions, external moderators would be invited.

She also underlined that the first session where, among others, the Danish Prime Minister and

the President of the Commission were invited, focused on the long-term competitiveness of the

EU, but would possibly be broadened to accommodate further topical issues, should the need

arise, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian hybrid attacks against Europe, or the

so-called shadow fleet transporting Russian oil through the Baltic Sea.

Ms POMASKA expressed her appreciation to the Presidency for the draft, and proposed that

the topics of the Russian shadow fleet and current challenges to the Schengen area could be

included as topics.

Mr GONZÁLEZ PONS voiced his gratitude to the Presidency for including several speakers

from the European Parliament in the programme, and agreed that it would be good to discuss

Ukraine again in late autumn, following the COSAC Troika visit to Kyiv. He also underlined

that if Commissioners declined to participate, the European Parliament stood ready to support

the Presidency in insisting on their attendance.

EUU, Alm.del - 2024-25 - Bilag 623: Referat fra COSAC-formandsmøde og Trojka-møde 3-4/7-25 i København

Ms POMASKA replied that, on this topic, a statement was being prepared to be sent to the

European Commission in response to the fact that no Commissioners participated during the

parliamentary dimension of the preceding Polish Presidency.

4. APPROVAL OF THE OUTLINE OF THE 44TH BI-ANNUAL REPORT OF

COSAC

The

Outline of the 44th Bi-annual Report of COSAC

was presented by Ms KLINTSKOV

JERKEL, after which it was approved without comments.

5. APPOINTMENT OF THE PERMANENT MEMBER OF THE COSAC

SECRETARIAT FOR THE PERIOD 2026/27

Ms KLINTSKOV JERKEL informed the Troika that the Danish Presidency, following the

Troika meeting in Warsaw 8 June 2025, where she introduced the matter, would propose that

the co-financing of the Permanent Member of the COSAC should be reformed, so that national

parliaments together should share the full cost of the secondment, and not only half of the

secondment as is the case currently. This had been communicated to the members of the Troika

by email 30 June 2026. The proposal would align with the current financial model of the IPEX

Officer. Ms KLINTSKOV JERKEL further informed the Troika that the Danish

Folketing

would be sending out a letter to all delegations with the hope of a new arrangement being able

to enter force on 1 January 2026.

Ms KLINTSKOV JERKEL explained that the reason for the proposal was dual, as the

responsibility of the appointment of the Permanent Member of the COSAC Secretariat would

be a task for the Danish Presidency, as the current term of Mr Jakob SJÖVALL would expire

on 31 December 2025. Ms KLINTSKOV JERKEL also informed that the Swedish

Riksdag

had informed the Danish

Folketing

that they would not be extending Mr Jakob SJÖVALL, the

current Permanent member of the COSAC Secretariat, under the current financing agreement.

Moreover, past experiences had shown that it had been a difficult task to get a Permanent

Member for the COSAC Secretariat appointed, as it was a costly affair for a national parliament

to second their staff. To accommodate a feasible time frame to agree on the proposal of full

co-financing of the Permanent Member of the COSAC Secretariat, the Danish

Folketing

and

the Swedish

Riksdag

had therefore agreed to split the cost for seconding Mr SJÖVALL for the

year of 2026, if it would only be feasible for the full financing to enter into force in 2027.

In response to the proposal of full co-financing of the Permanent Member of the COSAC

Secretariat, Ms POMASKA indicated that this is a complex issue that, in her opinion, should

be discussed in more detail at a different level. She also announced that the Polish Parliament

EUU, Alm.del - 2024-25 - Bilag 623: Referat fra COSAC-formandsmøde og Trojka-møde 3-4/7-25 i København

did not have any objections to examining the initiative of the new co-financing scheme, but

reminded the Troika that the outgoing Polish Presidency had secured the co-financing of the

COSAC Secretariat for the period 2026-2027 as per standard practice under the current

financial scheme. Ms POMASKA proposed that the final decision on the financial commitment

should be accompanied by a detailed description of the scope of duties of the Permanent

Member of the COSAC Secretariat, as well as detailed guidelines for the parliaments seconding

the Permanent Member. In order to ensure the transparency of the procedure, Ms POMASKA

recommended establishing a working group composed of officials from the current Presidential

Troika of COSAC and other interested parliaments that would be tasked with drafting the scope

of duties of the Permanent Member and guidelines for parliaments seconding the Permanent

Member. Ms POMASKA also pointed out that it could be difficult to introduce a new co-

financing scheme from the beginning of 2026, and would have appreciated more data and a

plan for the procedure. She then announced that in response to the draft letter from the Danish

Parliament regarding the appointment and the new co-financing scheme of the Permanent

Member of the COSAC Secretariat, the Polish Parliament would send a letter communicating

those proposals. Ms KLINTSKOV JERKEL thanked for the suggestions and said that the

Danish Parliament would take it into consideration in the further process.

6. LETTERS RECEIVED BY THE PRESIDENCY

Ms KLINTSKOV JERKEL informed the Troika that the Presidency had received letters from

the Parliaments of Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom with requests to

participate in COSAC. After consulting with the Troika, these had been replied to favourably

by the Presidency. She also informed the Troika members that the Presidency had received a

letter from the Georgian

Sakartvelos p’arlament’i

on 20 June. The letter had been uploaded to

IPEX. Finally, she also informed the Troika members that the Presidency had received a letter

from the chairs of the EU Affairs Committees of the French

Assemblée nationale

and the

French

Sénat.

In the letter, the chairs propose to clarify the procedures concerning voting on

proposed amendments to COSAC contributions and conclusions. They also proposed that the

threshold for adopting such amendments should be lowered from a majority of 3/4 of the votes

to 2/3 of the votes. Ms KLINTSKOV JERKEL expressed her openness to consider this

proposal and raise it at the next plenary meeting. She underlined that the Troika would be kept

informed of any further developments.

7. ANY OTHER BUSINESS

No other business was raised.