General Affairs Council: June 2018

Robin Walker Excerpts

Thursday 21st June 2018 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Mr Robin Walker)]

Lord Callanan, Minister of State for Exiting the European Union, has made the following statement:

I will attend the General Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 26 June 2018 to represent the UK. Until we leave the European Union, we remain committed to fulfilling our rights and obligations as a full member.

The provisional agenda includes:

Enlargement and Stabilisation and Association Process

Ministers will exchange views and agree conclusions on enlargement, covering the western Balkans and Turkey.

Preparation of the European Council on 28 and 29 June 2018

The Council will discuss the draft conclusions for the June European Council. The conclusions are expected to cover migration; security and defence; jobs, growth and competitiveness; innovation and digital; the multiannual financial framework (MFF); and external relations.

European Council follow-up

The Bulgarian presidency will update ministers on progress in implementing previous European Council conclusions. These covered jobs, growth and competitiveness, and other items, including the Salisbury attack.

European Semester, integrated country-specific recommendations

Ministers will exchange views on the country-specific recommendations (CSRs).

IIA implementation

The presidency will provide an update on the state of play of the implementation of the 2016 inter-institutional agreement on better law making (IIA BLM).

Rule of Law in Poland/Article 7(1) TEU Reasoned Proposal

The Council will hold a hearing on article 7. The Commission and Poland will also provide updates on this issue and member states will be invited to pose questions to Poland on its response to the Commission’s concerns on the rule of law.

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