Det Udenrigspolitiske Nævn 2013-14
UPN Alm.del Bilag 158
Offentligt
EUROPEAN COUNCILTHE PRESIDENT
Brussels, 18 March 2014
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It is my pleasure to invite you to the Spring European Council which will take place in Brussels on20-21 March 2014.
The spring is our traditional moment to look carefully at the economic outlook in order to set policyorientations and that is why the first part of our agenda on Thursday has a strong economicdimension. We will start at 16.30 with the traditional exchange of views with the President of theEuropean Parliament, the last such exchange before the European Parliament elections of May. Ourfirst working session will be dedicated to the economy, focusing on three inextricably interlinkedtopics: the European Semester, the Europe 2020 strategy and industrial competitiveness. We willconclude the first phase of the 2014 European Semester in the presence of the President of theEuropean Central Bank, Mr Mario Draghi, and we will take a look at the implementation of theEurope 2020 targets ahead of the review foreseen for 2015.
Rue de la Loi 175 - 1048 Bruxelles - BELGIQUETél.: +32 (0)2 281 97 33 - Fax: +32 (0)2 281 67 37[email protected]
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As regards industrial competitiveness, Europe needs a strong and competitive industrial base, interms of both production and investment, as a key driver for economic growth and jobs. I wouldtherefore like us to discuss ways of achieving this common objective. At the end of the session, wewill adopt the relevant conclusions, including those related to the other economic parts, such as theSingle Resolution Mechanism and Taxation.
Most prominent on our agenda is the situation in Ukraine, which we will address over dinner. Wewill discuss the developments since our last meeting on 6 March, including our response followingthe Crimea referendum, which is illegal and contrary to the Ukrainian Constitution and internationallaw. We will take into account the measures taken by the Foreign Affairs ministers on Monday. Thenext day at 9.30, prior to the start of our meeting, we will sign the political provisions of theAssociation Agreement with Ukraine, in the presence of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, in linewith our decision two weeks ago.
The Friday working session will focus on our climate and energy strategy, with José ManuelBarroso briefly presenting the European Commission’s communication on the issue. Our main taskis to prepare for the conclusion of a global climate agreement at the 21st session of the Conferenceof Parties in Paris in 2015, taking into account past discussions relating to commitments anddeadlines. As a follow-up to our May 2013 meeting on energy, we will also identify what remainsto be done for completing the Internal Energy Market by 2014, developing interconnections by2015 and reducing our energy dependency.
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The last part of our meeting will be dedicated to our relations with Africa. Ahead of the EU-Africasummit of 2-3 April, we will concentrate on a dimension of EU-Africa relations which requires ahigh-level political engagement from leaders: peace and security. We will end the meeting byadopting the conclusions relating to these issues.
&salutations
H. VAN ROMPUY
