EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 244: Referat af Trojka-møde og COSAC-møde i Helsinki 1-3/12-19

Europaudvalget 2019-20
EUU Alm.del Bilag 244
Offentligt

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE LXII COSAC

Helsinki, 2-3 December 2019

IN THE CHAIR: Ms Satu HASSI, Chairperson of the Grand Committee, Finnish

Eduskunta

AGENDA:

1. Opening of the meeting of the LXII COSAC

Welcome address by Mr Matti VANHANEN, Speaker of the Finnish

Eduskunta

Introductory remarks by Mr Kimmo KILJUNEN, Member of the Grand Committee, Finnish

Eduskunta

Adoption of the agenda of the meeting of the LXII COSAC

2. Procedural issues and miscellaneous matters

Briefing on the results of the meeting of COSAC's Presidential Troika

Co-financing of the Permanent Member of the COSAC Secretariat

Presentation of the 32

Bi-annual Report of COSAC

Letters received by the Presidency

Procedural issues

Exchange of views on the Conference on the Future of Europe

3. Session I

– ‘The

Finnish Presidency of the EU Council’

Speaker: Mr Antti RINNE, Prime Minister of Finland

Chair: Mr Kimmo KILJUNEN, Member of the Grand Committee, Finnish

Eduskunta

4. Session II

– ‘Promoting

the Rule of Law in the EU and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights’

Speakers: Ms Tytti TUPPURAINEN, Minister for European Affairs, Government of Finland; Mr Michael

O€FLAHERTY,

Director, EU Agency for Fundamental Rights

Chair: Mr Kimmo KILJUNEN, Member of the Grand Committee, Finnish

Eduskunta

5. Session III

– ‘Intervention

by Mr

Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ,

Vice-President of the European

Commission’

Moderator: Ms Mairéad McGUINNESS, First Vice-President, European Parliament

6. Meeting of the Chairpersons of COSAC

Appointment of the Permanent Member of the COSAC Secretariat

Discussion on the draft Contribution and draft Conclusions of the LXII COSAC

7. Session IV

– ‘A

Winning Climate Strategy for Europe’

Speakers: Ms Mari PANTSAR, Director, Carbon Neutral Circular Economy, the Finnish Innovation Fund

Sitra; Professor Markku OLLIKAINEN, Chair of the Finnish Climate Change Panel; Mr Pekka TIMONEN,

Mayor of the City of Lahti (European Green Capital 2021)

Chair: Ms Satu HASSI, Chairperson of the Grand Committee, Finnish

Eduskunta

8. Session V

– ‘Intervention

by Mr Michel BARNIER, Head of the Task Force for Relations with the

United Kingdom’

Chair: Ms Satu HASSI, Chairperson of the Grand Committee, Finnish

Eduskunta

9. Adoption of the Contribution and Conclusions of the LXII COSAC

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 244: Referat af Trojka-møde og COSAC-møde i Helsinki 1-3/12-19

PROCEEDINGS

1. Opening of the meeting of the LXII COSAC

Welcome address by Mr Matti VANHANEN, Speaker of the Finnish

Eduskunta

and introductory

remarks by Mr Kimmo KILJUNEN, Member of the Grand Committee, Finnish

Eduskunta

Mr Matti VANHANEN, Speaker of the Finnish

Eduskunta,

began his welcome address by expressing his

satisfaction for the fact that a new European Commission, led by Ms Ursula von der LEYEN, had begun

its work the previous day. Mr VANHANEN stated that the political guidelines of President von der LEYEN

provided a good basis for the development of the Union, and for promoting the wellbeing and safety of

European citizens in the coming years.

Mr VANHANEN referred to the Conference on the Future of Europe and noted that he had participated in

the convention that had drafted the Constitution for Europe. He stressed that the results of the conference

could only lead to decisions if the mandate of the conference was firmly founded in democratic principles.

Mr VANHANEN underlined that in order for the conference to bring added value, it should be politically

representative, considering also gender parity and participation of minorities. Furthermore, in order for it

to be credible, it should be transparent and democratic.

When it came to the way the EU appoints its leaders, Mr VANHANEN stated it was appropriate for the

conference to reflect also on institutional questions, but these questions should be dealt with care and

consideration. Mr VANHANEN said it was not good that the results of elections were slowly and

uncertainly reflected in administration and EU legislative programmes, nor was it healthy for any

democracy that less than half of its voters cast their votes. He underlined that the resources and commitment

to be allocated to this work should not come about at the expense of managing the substance of

policymaking. Mr VANHANEN stressed that, in the end, the political legitimacy of the Union was founded

on the benefits and added value it brought to its citizens, namely those of security, wellbeing and stability.

Mr VANHANEN declared the meeting open.

Adoption of the agenda

The Chair presented the draft agenda of the LXII COSAC, which was adopted without amendment.

2. Procedural issues and miscellaneous matters

Mr KILJUNEN, Member of the Grand Committee, Finnish

Eduskunta,

welcomed the participants,

especially new Chairs participating at the COSAC plenary for the first time, namely Mr Stanislaw

TYSZKA, Chairperson of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Polish

Sejm;

Mr Luís Capoulas

SANTOS, Chairman of the European Affairs Committee of the Portuguese

Assembleia da Republica;

Karin BROUWERS, Chair of the Federal Advisory Committee on European Affairs of the Belgian

Sénat.

Mr KILJUNEN further referred to the letter from Mr Marc ANGEL, former Chairman of the Committee

on Foreign and European Affairs, on Defense, Cooperation and Immigration of the Luxembourg

Chambre

des Députés

who had resigned his post as Chairman to take up new responsibilities at the European

Parliament. Mr KILJUNEN wished him well.

Briefing on the results of the meeting of the Presidential Troika of COSAC

The Chair informed participants of the results of the Troika meeting held the day before, during which the

Troika had agreed on a compromised text for the Draft Contribution and Draft Conclusions. This had been

circulated to delegations the previous evening.

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 244: Referat af Trojka-møde og COSAC-møde i Helsinki 1-3/12-19

The Chair informed the delegations that they could submit additional amendments to the Troika

compromise text by 12.00 on Monday, 2 December.

Co-financing of the Permanent Member of the COSAC secretariat

Mr KILJUNEN announced that the letters of intent had been received from all the Parliaments and

Chambers with the exception of the UK Parliament.

Presentation of the 32

Bi-annual Report of COSAC

Mr KILJUNEN invited the Permanent Member of the COSAC Secretariat, Mr Kenneth CURMI, to present

the 32

Bi-annual Report of COSAC, which was based on Parliaments' replies to the related questionnaire

circulated to delegations on 31 July 2019 with a deadline of 20 September 2019 for submitting replies.

Mr CURMI briefly referred to the three chapters of the Report: the first one concentrated on the overview

of parliamentary activities, the second one dealt with interparliamentary cooperation in the 2020s and the

third one addressed the evaluation of Bi-annual Reports.

Letters received by the Presidency

The Chair referred to the following letters received by the Presidency:



Letter from Mr Hayke VELDMAN, Chair of the European Affairs Committee, Dutch

Tweede

Kamer,

asking the LXII COSAC to put legislative transparency on the agenda.

Letter from Mr Gunther KRICHBAUM, Chair of the Committee on European Union Affairs,

German

Bundestag,

requesting the LXII COSAC to put an item relating to the future trade relations

of the EU on the agenda. The Presidency replied that whereas a separate session on trade policy

could not be accommodated, there would be time to deal with issues related to trade policy under

other existing agenda topics.

Letter from Lord KINNOULL, Chair of the European Union Committee, UK

House of Lords,

introducing himself in his new role.

A second letter from Lord KINNOULL informing the Presidency that the Members of the European

Union Committee would be unable to attend the LXII COSAC following the announcement that a

General Election would take place in the United Kingdom on 12 December 2019.

Letter from Mr Jean BIZET, French

Sénat,

proposing to update colleagues with developments

concerning the subject of voluntary civil security work since the last COSAC in Bucharest.

Letter from Mr Nikitas KAKLAMANIS, Greek

Vouli ton Ellinon,

suggesting the issue of migration,

in particular the establishment of the Common European Asylum System, to be included in the

agenda of the LXIII COSAC to be held in Zagreb. The Presidency replied to this letter, with a

message from the incoming Croatian Presidency.

Letter from Mr Marc ANGEL, Luxembourg

Chambre des Députés,

informing the Presidency of his

resignation as a member of the Luxembourg Parliament and his upcoming role as Member of the

European Parliament.

Letter from Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK, Chairman of the Committee on European Affairs of the

Hungarian

Országgyű lés

, informing the Presidency of the conclusions adopted during the meeting

of the Committees on European Affairs of the Visegrád Group held in Sárospatak, Hungary on 8-

10 September 2019.

Letters from the Speaker of the Maltese

Kamra tad-deputati

and the Chairman of the European

Affairs Committee of the Italian

Camera dei deputati

in connection with the appointment of the

Permanent Member of the COSAC Secretariat for 2020-2021.

Procedural issues



EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 244: Referat af Trojka-møde og COSAC-møde i Helsinki 1-3/12-19

The draft text of the Contribution and Conclusions was circulated to delegations on 11 November 2019.

Amendments received from delegations by the stipulated deadline were, together with the initial text and a

number of compromise proposals elaborated by the Presidency, included in a table and submitted to the

Troika.

Following a detailed examination of each proposed amendment, and based on the Presidency's compromise

proposals, the Troika drafted a modified text of the Contribution and distributed it among delegations.

The Chair informed delegations that the Chairpersons would meet from 16.30 until 17.30 to discuss the

draft Contribution and Conclusions, as well as the appointment of the Permanent Member of the COSAC

Secretariat.

The Chair then gave the floor to Mr Jean BIZET, President of the European Affairs Committee of the

French

Sénat,

who updated the delegations on the subject of voluntary civil security work. Mr BIZET noted

that this subject was particularly relevant in France, but also in Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.

The Chair finally

gave the floor to Mr Domagoj Ivan MILOŠEVIĆ, Chairman of the European Affairs

Committee of the Croatian

Hrvatski sabor,

who informed delegations about the upcoming meeting of the

COSAC Chairpersons, to be held in Zagreb on 19-20 January 2020, as well as the LXIII COSAC, to be

held on 24-26 May 2020.

4. Exchange of views on the Conference on the Future of Europe

Since the exchange of views with Mr Antti RINNE, Prime Minister of Finland, had to be cancelled due to

unforeseen events, Mr KILJUNEN proposed having a discussion on the Conference on the Future of

Europe. In his opening remarks, he highlighted the importance of national Parliaments€ involvement in the

Conference. Referring to an earlier debate on the future of Europe held in the context of the Constitutional

Treaty, he pointed out that national Parliaments had been included in the Convention responsible for

drafting the Constitution for Europe.

Thirty-five speakers took the floor in the ensuing debate, during which parliamentarians stressed the

importance of involving national Parliaments in the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Ms Eva Kjer HANSEN, Danish

Folketing,

stressed that it was essential to involve national Parliaments

directly, arguing that it was through this participation the conference could achieve broad acceptance to its

results and ensure ownership of the process. She proposed three items on the agenda of the conference: rule

of law and fundamental rights; transparency and better lawmaking; and improving national ownership of

EU policies through better involvement of national Parliaments in the EU legislative process.

Mr Daniel FREUND, European Parliament, underlined that the conference should lead to tangible

outcomes and stated that he had proposed to include national Parliaments in the resolution prepared in the

European Parliament on the matter. Mr Jaak MADISON, European Parliament, recalled he had participated

in the task force on subsidiarity, proportionality and doing less more efficiently noting that despite lengthy

discussions, the process had not led to a consensus on the future of the EU. He underlined that the question

is not whether national Parliaments should be included in the process, rather the question was how to

achieve that in practical terms. A similar sentiment was echoed by Mr Marcin BOSACKI, Polish

Senat,

who argued that the main question was which topics should be included in the agenda of the conference.

Mr BOSACKI also spoke in favour of strengthening European foreign policy and assuming a clear strategic

direction for the EU.

Mr �½uboš BLAHA, Slovak

Národná rada,

emphasised the need to bring the EU closer to its citizens,

arguing that national politicians should assume a leading role in setting the agenda for EU policymaking.

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 244: Referat af Trojka-møde og COSAC-møde i Helsinki 1-3/12-19

Mr Angelos VOTSIS, Cyprus

Vouli ton Antiprosopon,

made similar remarks emphasising the role of

national Parliaments in inducing greater ownership of EU policies.

Mr Georgios KYRTSOS, Europen Parliament, argued that the main challenge ahead was how the EU could

strengthen its role in the world, as the geopolitical dimension and its challenges was a very important topic

in discussions about the future of Europe. He stressed that national Parliaments should be involved in such

a discussion, and ensure democratic legitimacy. Mr Jorge BUXADÉ VILLALBA, European Parliament,

called for a European Union which would best address the challenges European citizens were facing and

thus provide them with real benefits.

Several parliamentarians called for extending the debate on the Future of Europe beyond the upcoming

Croatian Presidency of the Council of the EU (Mr Václav HAMPL, Czech

Sénat,

Mr Domagoj

HAJDUKOVIĆ,

Croatian

Hrvatski Sabor,

Mr Gerard CRAUGHWELL, Irish

Houses of Oireachtas,

Marina BERLINGHIERI, Italian

Camera dei Deputati).

Ms Karin BROUWERS, Belgian

Sénat,

spoke in favour of including regions in the debate on the future of

Europe. Similarly, Mr Alessandro GIGLIO VIGNA, Italian

Camera dei Deputati,

suggested that the role

of the regions should be strengthened, including in the legislative process, arguing that it was through

regions that citizens could assume a greater sense of belonging to Europe.

Ms Ursula GRODEN-KRANICH, German

Bundestag,

called for representative parity between national

Parliaments and the European Parliament in the conference.

Several parliamentarians called for a renewed commitment to EU enlargement policy. Mr Jan

DZIEDZICZAK, Polish

Sejm,

argued in favour of making EU enlargement one of the main elements in the

new vision for Europe. Ms Elvira KOVACS, Serbian

Narodna skupština

, regretted the decision not to open

negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, stating that is was a step back for the entire region. She

stated that Serbia was working diligently to implement reforms in order to ensure its full membership in

the Union, adding that seventeen negotiating chapters had been opened, with one or two more expected to

be opened by the end of the Finnish Presidency. Mr Slaven RADUNOVIC, Montenegrin

Skupština

expressed his hope that the new European Commission would define a clear agenda for the enlargement

policy. Mr İsmail Emrah KARAYEL, Turkish

Büyük Millet Meclisi,

affirmed that the membership of the

EU was a strategic priority for Turkey and underlined that there was no future for Europe without Turkey.

Ms Sibel ÖZDEMIR, Turkish

Büyük Millet Meclisi,

recalled the 2006 Finnish Presidency of the Council

of the EU, noting that it was during that term that Turkey was granted candidate status, and stressed the

need to maintain dialogue and promote understanding.

Mr Dimitris KAIRIDIS, Greek

Vouli ton Ellinon,

underlined migration as a fundamental policy challenge

to Europe, arguing that without solidarity the Union risked division.

Mr Siegbert DROESE, German

Bundestag,

emphasised the importance of respecting the subsidiarity

principle, arguing that more decisions should be taken at national level while national Parliaments should

also be granted a veto right in European legislation.

Several parliamentarians stressed the need to include citizens in the debate on the future of Europe. Ms

Gabriela CREŢU, Romanian

Senat,

said a thorough analysis of citizens€ discontent was needed before any

solution or vision could be offered. She emphasised the need for broad representation, accounting gender

parity, differences between Member States and the diversity of European regions. Mr Ettore Antonio

LICHERI, Italian

Senato della Repubblica,

noted there was a need to give a new impetus to European

democracy and to promote active citizen participation through digital platforms, for without citizen

involvement the conference risked ending up as no more than a talking shop. Mr Bernard DURKAN, Irish

Houses of Oireachtas,

underscored the importance of corresponding to the needs of the citizens, listening

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to them and delivering on such issues as responding to climate change and migration. Ms Mairéad

McGUINNESS, European Parliament, referred to the Irish Citizens' Assembly as an example of how

citizens could be better heard in European policymaking. Ms Sabine THILLAYE, French

Assemblée

nationale,

stressed the need for involving citizens and ensuring transparency and solidarity throughout the

process. Ms Ellen SAMYN, Belgian

Chambre des Représentants,

emphasised pensions, social security,

migration and safety as the primary concerns for citizens.

Mr Gunther KRICHBAUM, German

Bundestag,

stressed

that it was urgent to think of national Parliaments€

participation in the conference in practical terms, and expressed his support for including migration and

solidarity in the agenda of the conference.

Mr Domagoj Ivan MILOŠEVIĆ, Croatian

Hrvatski sabor,

noted how enlargement policy and the

Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) were divisive subjects and called for further parliamentary debate

on these matters, adding that finding solutions would benefit the entire Union.

3. Session I: The Finnish Presidency of the EU Council

Speaker: Mr Antti RINNE, Prime Minister of Finland

Chair: Mr Kimmo KILJUNEN, Member of the Grand Committee, Finnish

Eduskunta

Mr Antti RINNE, Prime Minister of Finland, began his intervention by stressing the importance of open,

active and constructive dialogue with national Parliaments and the European Parliament. Noting that the

Grand Committee of the Finnish

Eduskunta

(the Finnish EU Affairs Committee) had considerable influence

on Finland€s EU policy, he underlined that parliamentary oversight strengthened the common view of

Finland€s EU policies and increased the legitimacy of decision-making.

Mr RINNE explained that the principle of sustainability had been a guiding

principle during Finland€s

Presidency of the Council of the EU and focus had been placed on areas in which the EU was best able to

bring European added value, namely the rule of law, climate action, competitiveness and social

inclusiveness, and protecting the security of citizens comprehensively. Mr RINNE stressed that common

values were the foundation of European freedom, security and prosperity. He explained that undermining

the rule of law in one Member State could hamper the functioning of the EU as a whole. The Finnish

Presidency had focussed on prevention and improving and strengthening rule of law toolbox and

cooperation between different actors. He noted that there was wide support for a stronger and more result-

oriented dialogue. Protecting the EU budget in cases of rule of law deficiencies would be a crucial element

in the next MFF and in this regard the European Commission intended to start a new rule of law review

cycle.

Mr RINNE stated that during Finland€s Presidency, the Council had discussed

the means to achieve climate

neutrality by 2050, a target on which a decision should be made by the end of the year. He emphasised that

the European Green Deal would offer an opportunity for the EU to move towards a more sustainable future.

Key policy actions had been identified to this end, including on strengthening the Single Market for clean

technologies and services while safeguarding the functioning of the Single Market from challenges to the

EU€s external competitiveness and

the risk of losing level playing field. He furthermore stressed that more

emphasis had been placed on the social dimension, with modern employment and social standards, and that

the full implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights was a key factor in this.

Mr RINNE underlined that security was a key concern to European citizens. In the past years, significant

progress in the field of security and defense cooperation had been achieved in the EU. During the Finnish

Presidency, strategic discussion had been promoted and importance of new technologies, such as artificial

intelligence had been highlighted. Awareness of hybrid threats had been increased and relevant EU tools

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had been assessed through several scenario-based policy discussions. The Council was due to adopt

conclusions outlining the next steps in countering hybrid threats by the end of year.

Mr RINNE noted that one of the main tasks during the Finnish Presidency had been to find a realistic

middle ground and to produce a balanced basis for the final stages of the negotiations on the next MFF. To

this end, an updated Negotiating Box with figures would be submitted ahead of the December European

Council. In closing, he underlined the importance of efficient decision-making, transparency and dialogue

with citizens, civil society and social partners as means to enhancing trust in the EU.

4. Session II: Promoting the Rule of Law in the EU and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights

Speakers: Ms Tytti TUPPURAINEN, Minister for European Affairs, Finnish Government, and Mr Michael

O€FLAHERTY, Director, EU Agency for Fundamental Rights

Chair: Mr Kimmo KILJUNEN, Member of the Grand Committee, Finnish

Eduskunta

Ms Tytti TUPPURAINEN, Minister for European Affairs of the Finnish Government, opened her address

by highlighting the EU as a community of values and stressing that shared efforts were needed to enhance

democracy, fundamental rights and the rule of law amidst an increasingly complex European and global

environment. Ms TUPPURAINEN

recalled the Tampere European Council, held during Finland€s first

Council presidency 20 years earlier, which marked the beginning of a new era in EU Justice and Home

Affairs cooperation and affirmed a shared commitment to the common values that would prove necessary

in securing security and prosperity in the EU and beyond. The Summit also agreed on the procedure for

drafting the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights which would later become a principal legal instrument in

the protection of fundamental rights in the EU and enhancing the

EU€s credibility in the world.

Ms TUPPURAINEN stressed that those common values were interlinked, interdependent and mutually

reinforcing. Ms TUPPURAINEN further pointed out that the priorities of the Finnish Presidency were

closely linked with the objective of sustainability which was dependent on the tripod of democracy,

fundamental rights and the rule of law. She said that the Finnish Presidency had endeavoured to promote

the EU€s common values in a horizontal, integrated and comprehensive

manner in order to ensure respect

for the rule of law, develop the EU€s rule of law instruments and strengthen their synergies. Ms

TUPPURAINEN also stressed the need to ensure transparency and access to information and referred to

measures the Council had implemented during the Finnish Presidency, including the proactive publication

of legal documents and holding Council discussions in public. Ms TUPPURAINEN underlined that

transparency should be combined with clear communication, which could together help counter

disinformation.

In closing, Ms TUPPURAINEN stressed that preserving common values was a common endeavour and

called upon the EU Member States, national Parliaments, EU institutions, EU agencies as well as civil

society to act together in order to protect the foundations of European societies and European integration,

such as peace, security, stability, democracy and prosperity. Ms TUPPURAINEN highlighted the rights of

young people in voicing their concerns and said they should be better informed and involved in discussing

matters that concerned them, including the rule of law, fundamental rights and questions relating to respect

of these values in the context of climate change. Finally, Ms TUPPURAINEN underlined the need to foster

cooperation with the Council of Europe and other regional and international organisations and referred to

the EU€s reaffirmed commitment to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights as one of the

most important achievements of Finland€s Presidency of the

Council.

Mr Michael

O€FLAHERTY, Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights

(FRA), begun his address

by acclaiming the strong architecture for the protection of human and fundamental rights that had been

created in Europe and the way it bound together respect for fundamental rights and quality of a society

based on the rule of law. Notwithstanding the existing tools, Mr O€FLAHERTY noted grave problems

related to delivering on human rights commitments remained and referred to child poverty and racism as

alarming examples. Mr O€FLAHERTY emphasised the role of parliamentarians in delivering on the

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objectives and obligations and building a fairer Europe with the available tools, especially the Charter of

Fundamental Rights of the European Union

(‡the Charter€).

Mr O€FLAHERTY stressed that applying the Charter was an important pathway to a

state which respected

the rule of law and assured human dignity and freedoms. He pointed out that the Charter was larger in scope

than other international human rights treaties and gave equal focus to civil, political, economic, social as

well as cultural rights. He underlined that the Charter, unlike other international human rights commitments,

had direct national legal effect in issues falling under the EU competence and its guarantees often went

beyond those found in national constitutions of the Member States. Despite this transformative power, Mr

O€FLAHERTY underscored that significant underuse of the Charter had been identified

when it came to

awareness and references to legislation, particularly on a

national level. Mr O€FLAHERTY explained that

the underuse of the Charter was related to its relative novelty as a legally binding instrument and therefore

more awareness and training was needed. He noted there was confusion about the use of the Charter,

originating from difficulties in interpreting whether a matter fell under EU or national competency and

from lack of accuracy when it came to the content of the Charter itself and identifying whether specific

parts constituted rights or principles.

Mr O€FLAHERTY

proposed concrete measures in order to reinvigorate interest in the Charter by

Parliaments in particular. He invited parliamentarians to focus their attention to the Charter in their work

and include assessing Charter compliance in the mandate of relevant parliamentary committees. He further

called on Parliaments to consider convening an annual fundamental rights debate, invest in training for staff

and parliamentarians in the use of the Charter and put in place a formal scrutiny procedure for Charter

compliance in relevant legislation. He also invited Parliaments to encourage governments to adopt national

action plans for promotion, awareness and use of the Charter. Finally, Mr O€FLAHERTY assured the

support of the Agency to Parliaments in terms of both resources and expertise.

During the debate which followed, 35 speakers took the floor. In their interventions, many parliamentarians

explicitly expressed their support for strengthening respect of the rule of law and common values (Ms Ria

OOMEN-RUIJTEN, Dutch

Eerste Kamer;

Ms Stieneke van der GRAAF, Dutch

Tweede Kamer;

Ms Anneli

OTT, Estonian

Riigikogu;

Mr Tibor BANA, Hungarian

Országgyű lés

; Mr Neale RICHMOND, Irish

Houses of Oireachtas;

Ms Liliane TANGUY, French

Assemblée nationale;

Ms Marina BERLINGHIERI,

Italian

Camera dei Deputati;

Ms Vita Anda TĒRAUDA, Latvian

Saeima;

Mr Marcin BOSACKI, Polish

Senat;

Mr Gabi IONASCU, Romanian

Senat).

Speakers referred to different measures in order to enhance respect for common values. A mechanism for

protecting the EU budget in cases of breaches of rule of law was referred to as a useful instrument by a

number of participants (Mr Andreas PASIOURTIDIS, Cypriot

Vouli ton Antiprosopon;

Ms Liliane

TANGUY, French

Assemblée nationale;

Mr Tibor BANA, Hungarian

Országgyű lés

; Ms BERLINGHIERI

and Mr IONASCU). Ms BERLINGHIERI called for a preventative approach similar to the macro-economic

approach under the European Semester. Mr IONASCU said that budgetary sanctions should only be used

as a last resort and recommended measures such as awareness raising, debates in national Parliaments and

exchange of good practices. The Belgo-German initiative to create a peer review mechanism on the rule of

law

was explicitly welcomed by Ms TĒRAUDA, Ms van der GRAAF and Ms TANGUY,

while Mr

Philippe BONNECARRÈRE, French

Sénat,

asked how such a mechanism would be put in place in practice.

Many speakers encouraged the view that dialogue or cooperation were important in enhancing democracy

and rule of law in the EU (Mr Václav HAMPL, Czech

Sénat;

Ms TĒRAUDA;

Ms van der GRAAF; Mr

�½uboš BLAHA, Slovak

Národná rada;

Mr Jan DZIEDZICZAK, Polish

Sejm;

Mr IONASCU).

Some speakers stressed respect for the sovereignty of the Member States (Mr BLAHA; Mr Jaak

MADISON, European Parliament; Mr BANA; Mr DZIEDZICZAK).

Mr Ludvig ASPLING, Swedish

Riksdag,

and Mr MADISON said that they considered the current

proceedings under Article 7 a political game and were critical of interfering in Member States€ internal

decisions and actions. Mr GIGLIO VIGNA argued that Europe needed to respect its inherent diversity and

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not judge individual states on their internal work and politics. He further argued that suspending or cutting

EU funding based on a political judgement was dangerous and could undermine Europe. Mr Richárd

HÖRCSIK, Hungarian

Országgyű lés

, said that rule of law was increasingly used as a tool for political

leverage and warned against creating further division between Members States.

Mr Luca JAHIER, European Economic and Social Committee, said that a permanent mechanism at EU

level concerning all Member States was needed to assure consistency with the agenda of fundamental rights

and rule of law and it would also avoid a shaming game between Member States. In this regard, he further

emphasised the role of the civil society. Similarly, Mr IONASCU argued that evaluation mechanisms

should equally apply to all Member States in order to avoid susceptibilities of political motivation behind

the mechanisms.

Mr BOSACKI said that the Polish

Senat,

being controlled by the political opposition, as well as the majority

of Polish citizens, were committed to the common values and standards of democracy.

Mr BANA appealed that common values should be kept as priorities while at the same time respecting

national sovereignty. Mr Vladimir ĐURIĆ, Serbian

Narodna skupština

, commented on the relation between

protecting rule of law on one hand, and regional stability on the other hand, emphasising that long-term

stability could not exist without democracy.

The need to continue work in order to strengthen fundamental rights was referred to by many speakers,

including Ms Kerstin-Oudekki LOONE, Estonian

Riigikogu

and Mr PASIOURTIDIS. Ms OTT argued that

citizens€ awareness of fundamental

rights

should be raised and called for the European Commission€s

annual report on the implementation of the Charter to be translated in all EU languages. Mr Bernard

DURKAN, Irish

Houses of the Oireachtas,

referred to the need to refer more often to the Charter in the

work of a parliamentarian.

Workers€ rights and the need to fight unemployment were advocated by Ms LOONE, Mr BLAHA and Ms

Beatriz DIAS, Portuguese

Assembleia da República,

while Mr Gerard CRAUGHWELL, Irish

Houses of

the Oireachtas,

drew attention to the fact that pay equality had still not been achieved.

As regards migration, protection of refugees and migrants€ rights was advocated by Ms Mairead

McGUINNESS, European Parliament, and Ms DIAS who drew attention to the discrimination that migrants

faced. Mr Smari McCARTHY, Icelandic

Alþingi,

proposed that tackling global inequality that increasingly

caused issues with migration required tackling global corruption. Ms Eleni STAVROU, Cyprus

Vouli ton

Antiprosopon,

said that a proper framework should be created so as to manage external borders of the EU,

migration and security.

Ms Riina SIKKUT, Estonian

Riigikogu,

stressed the EU€s role in delivering on

human centred digital

economy. Mr Gunther KRICHBAUM, German

Bundestag,

and Mr Georgios KYRTSOS, European

Parliament, emphasised the need to safeguard key technologies against foreign interference while Mr

CRAUGHWELL referred to attacks in social media and stressed the importance of protecting personal

data.

Ms OOMEN-RUIJTEN stressed that combatting corruption was necessary in order to achieve economic

and social stability.

Ms BERLINGHIERI urged the EU to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on prevention and

combatting violence against women and domestic violence

(‡Istanbul

Convention€) and stressed that

violence against women should also be discussed in the Conference on the future of the EU.

In her closing remarks, Ms TUPPURAINEN emphasised that rule of law was a legal fact enshrined in the

EU Treaties and thus could not be taken as a political opinion or a moral idea. She invited everyone to

follow the path towards a sustainable future for Europe tackling climate change, inequalities and poverty

and committing to fundamental and human rights.

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Mr O€FLAHERTY emphasised in his closing remarks that rule of law is not an entirely subjective concept

as there existed a strong working definition of it given by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.

He further emphasised the indivisibility of social and economic human rights on one hand, and civil and

political human rights on the other. He also drew attention to the need for gender approaches when

protecting human rights, safeguarding human rights online and in the digital world as well as delivering

better on the protection of migrants and refugees€ human rights. He invited Parliaments to make use of the

Agency€s data in their dialogues and offered also a possibility to direct cooperation

between individual

national Parliaments and the Agency. Mr O€FLAHERTY concluded that human rights concern everyone

in the society, not only the minorities, and urged therefore to reinvigorate and mainstream attention to the

Charter instead of seeing it as a controversial agenda.

5. Session III: Intervention by Mr

Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President

of the European Commission

Speaker:

Mr Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ, Vice-President

of the European Commission

Moderator: Ms Mairéad McGUINNESS, First Vice-President, European Parliament

Mr Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ, Vice-President

of the European Commission, referred to the present day as a special

day, not only because this meeting marked the 30th anniversary of the first meeting of COSAC that took

place in France, but also because it was the first working day in office of the new Commission.

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

underlined that the choices to be made ahead would fundamentally shape the role and

position of the EU in the decades to come. He subsequently referred to the von der LEYEN Commission

Political Guidelines for the coming five years: the European Green Deal, an economy that works for people,

a Europe fit for the digital age, the promotion of the European way of life, a stronger Europe in the world

and a new push for our European democracy. He also made mention of the Conference on the Future of

Europe.

As Vice-President for interinstitutional relations and foresight,

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

stated that he would assist

the President von der LEYEN in developing the Commission Work Programme and, as responsible for

annual and multiannual programming, he would facilitate a consistent approach between the EU institutions

in legislative planning.

In the context of

foresight, Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

referred to his plan to set up an EU Strategic Foresight Network

that would bring together the best of the EU institutions and Member States to create synergies and asked

those Parliaments with foresight capacity to join this network.

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ cited

the example of the

European Battery Alliance, where the common work of European institutions, industry and Member States

would allow building a value chain of the greenest batteries in Europe.

Concerning national Parliaments,

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

stated that they were and would remain an important

partner for the Commission, in particular through the subsidiarity control of Commission proposals, a rich

political dialogue, and fruitful direct contacts with Commissioners.

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

stated the new Commission would prepare aggregated responses in cases where a

Commission legislative proposal raised subsidiarity concerns from a significant number of national

Parliaments, without reaching the formal threshold for triggering a yellow card.

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

added that

the Commission was already this year discounting the period between 20 December and 10 January of the

following year when determining the deadline of eight weeks for the national Parliaments€ subsidiarity

control.

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ cited the concept of “active subsidiarity” as very attractive, meaning that all relevant actors,

be they institutional, national or sub-national, would constructively contribute to developing the added

value of EU legislation throughout the policymaking process.

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Concerning the Conference on the Future of Europe, Mr

ŠEFČOVIČ

stated that the Commission was

looking forward to receiving a collective contribution from the part of national Parliaments. For the new

Commission, the Conference was a way for citizens and civil society to make their voice heard and expose

their policy priorities.

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

stated that the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission should agree on a

well-defined structure of the Conference that respects democratic and institutional balance and underlined

that its starting and end points were the citizens and their interests and concerns.

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

expressed

the wish of the Commission for broad participation in the Conference from all relevant actors, including

national Parliaments.

Concerning the ongoing negotiations of the MFF for 2021-2027,

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

stated that they were in a

difficult phase and the EU budget would need to evolve according to the challenges of the present and

incoming times.

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

however regretted that until present, progress was limited, with some

countries asking for a budget that would even be smaller than today's budget as a share of EU gross national

income.

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

warned that reducing the EU budget further would not allow the Union to adequately

address the challenges it faced. It would also make funding the priorities already agreed by the Leaders like

climate change, innovation, digital, migration, security and defence, as well as

the EU€s

external actions,

difficult.

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

stated that others insisted to maintain the allocations to agriculture and/or to

cohesion, depending on which they benefited the most, and were ready to sacrifice the support to research

or climate change, where common actions proved to be very effective.

To reduce the burden on national budgets,

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

stated that the Commission had made a

deliberate effort to diversify sources of revenue while creating a link to policy objectives, in particular the

proposal to create new EU resources linked to the proportion of non-recycled plastic and to the level of

greenhouse gas emissions. Concluding,

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

encouraged all to support the necessary

compromises back home.

Twenty-nine parliamentarians took the floor in the ensuing debate. In their interventions, parliamentarians

welcomed the new Commission and expressed their support for the next five years.

Mr Luís CAPOULAS SANTOS, Portuguese

Assembleia da República,

underlined the need for an MFF

agreement in line with the ambitions, and disagreed with the proposal made by the Finnish Presidency (i.e.

an EU budget of EUR 1 087 billion for 2021-2027, equal to 1.07% of the gross national income of the EU

Member States).

Mr Christian BUCHMANN, Austrian

Bundesrat,

stressed the need to merge economy and ecology in the

New Green Deal, of budgetary discipline and administrative efficiency in the MFF, and of the enlargement

perspective to the Western Balkans.

Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK, Hungarian

Országgyű lés,

was of the view that the voices of national Parliaments

had to be heard on EU matters including in the Conference on the Future of Europe, and supported the

stance on MFF by the Friends of Cohesion. Similar views were expressed by Mr

Domagoj HAJDUKOVIĆ,

Croatian

Hrvatski sabor,

who underlined the importance of EU cohesion and of the Conference of the

Future of Europe. Ms Agnieszka POMASKA, Polish

Sejm,

asked for a better involvement of citizens in

EU matters, and to refrain linking infringements on rule of law to EU fund cuts.

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Mr Marcin BOSACKI, Polish

Senat,

agreed with the ambitions of the new Commission and encouraged it

to be brave but also a good communicator, and invited the Commission to the Polish Parliament, in the

frame of a public hearing, for instance.

Ms Gabriela

CREŢU,

Romanian

Senat,

referred to the link between the Single Market and wealth creation,

technology and democracy, and climate change and multilateralism.

Mr Georgios KYRTSOS, European Parliament, asked why the EU was lagging behind on electric vehicles

and stated that without ambition, no goal could be accomplished.

Mr Bernard DURKAN, Irish

Houses of the Oireachtas,

asked to act as a community when facing and

solving issues such as climate change and migration.

Mr Ettore Antonio LICHERI, Italian

Senato della Repubblica,

expressed support for the CAP and cohesion

policies and referred to the delicate situation of steel in Europe, in particular in the southern Italian city of

Taranto. Mr Alessandro GIGLIO VIGNA, Italian

Camera dei deputati,

referred to the need to reform the

Dublin convention and his support to the CAP and cohesion policies. Ms Hélène RYCKMANS, Belgian

Sénat,

also

supported the CAP and its administrative simplification, while Lech KOŁAKOWSKI, Polish

Sejm,

raised the issue of direct payments in CAP. Mr Jean BIZET, French

Sénat,

also expressed his support

to the CAP and asked for a more reactive EU.

Mr Bastiaan VAN APELDOORN, Dutch

Eerste Kamer,

called the Commission to play a more modest role

and asked for full involvement of national Parliaments in the Conference of the Future of Europe, and more

transparency and democratic accountability in the EU. Mr Hayke VELDMAN, Dutch

Tweede Kamer,

asked

for transparency in the Council, more active subsidiarity and called COSAC to achieve better results

through working groups. Mr Gerard CRAUGHWELL, Irish

Houses of the Oireachtas,

asked for honesty

in carbon footprint in the frame of the Green Deal, and was of the view that COSAC would improve by

working in smaller working groups. Ms Sabine THILLAYE, French

Assemblée nationale,

was open about

having thematic COSAC working groups but enquired about possible implementation.

Mr Evangelos SYRIGOS, Greek

Vouli ton Ellinon,

asked for solidarity to help share the burden of 4,000

unaccompanied minor refugees on Greek islands, deplored the unauthorized oil drilling by Turkey in

Cypriot waters and complained about the recent Libya-Turkey maritime boundaries agreement as a

violation of maritime law. Mr Elias MYRIANTHOUS, Cyprus

Vouli ton Antiprosopon,

welcomed the new

Commission€s

emphasis on citizens and social rights and, together with Mr Angelos VOTSIS, Cyprus

Vouli

ton Antiprosopon,

deplored the ongoing infringement of Cyprus sovereign rights by Turkey. Mr

İsmail

Emrah KARAYEL and Mr Selman ÖZBOYACI, Turkish

Büyük Millet Meclisi,

reacted to the Greek and

Cypriot interventions by stating that

Turkey€s

offshore activities in the Eastern Mediterranean were carried

out in compliance with international law, as was also as the recent accord signed between Libya and Turkey

on sea boundaries between the two countries. Mr Dimitris KAIRIDIS, Greek

Vouli ton Ellinon,

proposed

not to discuss the differences between Turkey, Greece and Cyprus any further and asked Turkey to agree

to settle the disputes by international law, and in an international court.

Ms Sibel ÖZDEMIR, Turkish

Büyük Millet Meclisi,

referred that Turkey obtained candidate status in

Helsinki in December 1999, and to the 2016 EU-Turkey statement agreement concerning migration

Mr �½ygimantas PAVILIONIS, Lithuanian

Seimas,

warned of the safety threats posed by the new Russian-

made nuclear power plant in Astravets, in neighbouring Belarus.

Mr Mark DEMESMAEKER, Belgian

Sénat,

asked not to turn a blind eye to the imprisonment of Catalan

politicians and called for political dialogue, not repression.

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The moderator, Ms Mairead McGUINNESS, European Parliament, referred to the importance of dialogue

when debating issues, and gave the floor to

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

for reactions.

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

replied to the

questions by blocks on MFF, on the Conference of the Future of Europe, on foresight and on enlargement.

On MFF, Mr ŠEFČOVIČ said that this was a difficult task for the Commission whose initial proposal was

an EU budget at 1.114 % of the GNP, knowing than the EU needed more, that the cost of non-Europe was

higher, and that unanimity was needed to reach a decision. Concerning cohesion funds, Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

stated that the divide in EU was not only GNP but also on wages and that cohesion was need to fill the gap.

Concerning the Green Deal, Mr ŠEFČOVIČ stated that there would financial support if there were good

projects.

On the Conference on the Future of Europe,

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

stated that it was natural to have national

Parliaments on board and underlined President von der

LEYEN€s aspiration that the debate on the future

was as much as possible outside of Brussels.

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

added that it was still to be defined how to

organise it, when and with whom, and welcomed COSAC willingness of involvement, and expressed his

wish that the conference would be a success and a citizen platform for the European project.

On foresight,

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

although there were some missed opportunities for Europe on electric

vehicles, there was new technology around the corner, and the EU could level up in the incoming future.

On enlargement,

Mr ŠEFČOVIČ

stated, citing former Commissioner for Enlargement, Johannes HAHN,

that if we stopped exporting stability, we would import insecurity.

6. Meeting of the Chairpersons of COSAC

Appointment of the Permanent Member of the COSAC Secretariat

The COSAC Chairpersons in Helsinki had noted that the term of office of the current Permanent Member

of the COSAC Secretariat, Mr Kenneth CURMI, would expire by the end of the year. The Presidency had

then received one nomination from the Maltese

Kamra tad-deputati

in September 2019 wherein it

recommended the renewal of the term of office of Mr CURMI for 2020 and 2021.

In line with the proposal of the Troika, the Chairpersons agreed on

Mr CURMI€s

reappointment for the

period from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021.

Discussion on the draft Contribution and draft Conclusions of the LXII COSAC

Mr KILJUNEN informed participants that the draft Conclusions and Contribution had been circulated on

11 November 2019. Since then, the Presidency had received amendments from national Parliaments and,

following the discussion during the Troika meeting on the day before, delegations had received a modified

document, as well as the amendments tabled until the deadline of noon, that day.

Mr KILJUNEN explained the voting system, reminding participants that each parliaments had two votes

with the vote split for bi-cameral parliaments.

Following some debate, including a number of votes, the draft Conclusions and an amended text of the

draft Contribution of the LXII COSAC were agreed upon.

Declaration concerning the vote on the Contribution of the LXII COSAC in accordance with article 7.5 of the COSAC rules of

procedure from the Swedish, Dutch (both chambers) and Danish delegations.

Our delegations voted in favour of the final COSAC contribution. However, we want to express our disappointment with how

the vote on the amendment drafted by the Austrian, Dutch (Tweede Kamer), Danish and Swedish delegations was handled. To

our understanding, the Chair initially clearly stated that the amendments would be adopted by majority vote, and that the final

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 244: Referat af Trojka-møde og COSAC-møde i Helsinki 1-3/12-19

7. Session IV: A Winning Climate Strategy for Europe

Speakers: Ms Mari PANTSAR, Director, Carbon Neutral Circular Economy, the Finnish Innovation Fund

Sitra; Professor Markku OLLIKAINEN, Chair of the Finnish Climate Change Panel and Mr Pekka

TIMONEN, Mayor of the City of Lahti (European Green Capital 2021)

Chair: Ms Satu HASSI, Chairperson of the Grand Committee of the Finnish

Eduskunta

Ms Satu HASSI, Chairperson of the Grand Committee of the Finnish

Eduskunta,

introduced the session,

presented the panellists and gave the floor to the first speaker, Ms Mari PANTSAR, Director, Carbon

Neutral Circular Economy, the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra.

Ms PANTSAR outlined the three steps that should be taken to strengthen

Europe€s climate leadership,

namely aligning

Europe€s emission targets with the Paris Agreement; strengthening Europe€s emission

trading; and seizing the full potential in the circular economy. She then briefly introduced the Finnish

Innovation Fund Sitra, a self-financed organisation established in 1967. Sitra coordinated the preparation

of Finland€s roadmap towards circular economy in 2016, which is the first such national circular economy

action plan in the world. Sitra also organised World Circular Economy Fora - leading arenas for circular

economy decision-makers. Ms PANTSAR underlined that while Europe has been the global leader in

climate change mitigation and emissions reduction, its emission targets are yet to be aligned with the Paris

Agreement long-term temperature goals of limiting global heating to under 2 degrees Celsius, and pointed

out the need to adapt Europe€s vision, including by adopting a target for carbon neutrality and increasing

the ambition of the 2030 target. Secondly, in terms of strengthening

Europe€s emission trading, Ms

PANTSAR underlined the need for these measures to be both efficient and cost-effective. Thirdly, in terms

of seizing the full potential in the circular economy, she explained the importance of better use of materials

that are already available, instead of extraction of more natural resources, which causes more green-gas

emissions and kills off more species. Ms PANTSAR concluded that climate change represents the greatest

challenge human kind has ever met and that Europe, already the leader in climate change mitigation, must

do even more.

Professor Markku OLLIKAINEN, Chair of the Finnish Climate Change Panel, announced he would be

focussing on the Green Deal that is currently prepared by the European Commission, aimed at strengthening

the

EU€s climate policy, and on the sources of green gas emissions, notably fossil fuels, coal and gas, that

can be replaced by non-carbon, renewable, sources of energy. He underlined the fact that the EU Emissions

Targeting System (EU ETS) is well-suited for reducing these emissions, and added the cap on emissions

needs to be tighter, allowing coal to be phased out by 2030, and even represent the most important part of

the Green Deal. Mr OLLIKAINEN presented the results on the EU ETS 2021-2030 trading phase that,

inter

alia,

predict a surplus of allowances of 3 000 Mt by 2030. He continued by explaining that cement and steel

industries represent large emitters, and that the EU ETS does not fit well to process-based emissions, as

there are currently no substitute technologies. Mr OLLIKAINEN stressed the importance of innovation

policy and pointed out the EU can provide its industries with a large number of business possibilities that

would result in reduced emissions, and further elaborated on the need for actions that would reduce the

primary demand for crude oil; oil would have to be left in the ground in the mid-term, and eventually

replaced it by introducing electric vehicles, synthetic recyclable fuels for heavy-duty vehicles and aviation,

and hydrogen itself. The Green Deal should clarify how synthetic recyclable fuels would be treated in the

contribution would be adopted by a qualified majority. A vote was carried out in which the amendment was accepted 25 in favour

and 18 against. After a debate, following the vote, the chair decided to once again call for a vote on the same subject with new

rules. This time, the amendment was not adopted. A lengthy discussion during the voting process created uncertainty. As we see

it, a vote cast under rules set out and agreed upon ahead of the vote should not be cancelled and done again with different rules.

This highlights the need to clarify the voting procedure in order to avoid this kind of situation in the future. We urgently invite

COSAC to address the issue to avoid such situations during upcoming meetings.

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 244: Referat af Trojka-møde og COSAC-møde i Helsinki 1-3/12-19

EU€s climate policy, and create a tighter policy towards plastics while promoting its recycling. In the

context of the Green Deal he added the time might be right for a new policy initiative promoting negative

emissions, as while there was now a price for emissions, there were no rewards for negative emissions. Mr

OLLIKAINEN concluded that the Green Deal brought benefits for most stakeholders by introducing tighter

caps on emissions in the EU ETS, a stronger innovation policy and a more determined policy to gradually

outphase oil. Mr OLLIKAINEN also provided a comment on the border adjustment tax, expressing his

belief the technical challenge to determine the carbon content of goods can be resolved, and the EU-wide

emissions would eventually decrease as the prices of goods with high carbon content would increase, thus

promoting a shift to cleaner goods, despite the fact the cost might increase in the industries using imported

goods as intermediary goods in their production.

Ms HASSI pointed out the climate policy in Finland was not just national, but also local. A number of cities

- such as Helsinki, Tampere and Turku - had set their own climate-neutrality targets with deadlines that

were the same (i.e. by 2035), or shorter than the national one, and the city of Lahti had set an even more

ambitious target. She gave the floor to Mr Pekka TIMONEN, Mayor of the City of Lahti.

Mr TIMONEN presented the results of the City of Lahti in their work on climate issues and fight against

climate change. He pointed out the European Commission had awarded Lahti the title of the European

Green Capital for 2021. Mr TIMONEN shortly presented his city and pointed out that most Europeans lived

in mid-sized cities like Lahti. He underscored the fact environmentally sustainable urban life represented a

solution to the challenges brought by climate change. To do so, cities needed to undergo a full green

transformation, rethink the way they function and learn from each other in that process. Lahti had set its

emission targets in 2009 and its carbon emissions have dropped significantly - despite the fact the city itself

had grown - and was set to be climate-neutral by 2025. In order to do that, the city was abandoning the use

of coal, had invested over 200 million euros in its energy systems over the last five years, and relied on

biofuel, renewable materials and energy waste. The city also improved its waste management and recycling,

to the point it did not require a landfill anymore, but was reusing almost all of its municipal waste. These

changes resulted in green growth and the creation of new jobs. The community, including schools and

children, have been involved in the environmental efforts, and Lahti was the first city in the world to have

launched the personal emissions trading scheme, conducted by a smart phone application that exchanged

emissions for benefits.

Ms HASSI opened the debate and 24 speakers took the floor. There was general support expressed in favour

of the idea of a Green Deal and tackling the issues caused by climate change.

A number of speakers made links between the consequences of climate change and the

EU€s Cohesion

Policy. Mr Paulo MONIZ, Portuguese

Assembleia da República,

pointed out that the outermost regions had

their particularities and represented an important element of the Cohesion Policy, underlined the relevance

of climate change for the outermost regions and stressed that circular economy provided an opportunity for

local employment, especially for the youth. Ms Anneli OTT, Estonian

Riigikogu,

pointed out that Estonia

was conducting a national discussion on climate-neutrality that it aimed to achieve by 2050, a goal which,

according to her, could only be achieved with the help of transitional mechanisms - while cuts in Cohesion

Policy and rural developments would undermine the achievement of climate goals. Ms Isabel

RODRIGUES, Portuguese

Assembleia da República,

underlined the importance of achieving a sustainable

economy. She pointed to the high level of indigenously sourced energy in her native Azores, stressed the

importance of agriculture and fisheries, and the need to take into consideration the differences between

European regions.

Mr Björn WIECHEL, Swedish

Riksdag,

pointed out that the issue of protecting the environment was not

just a question of moral responsibility or a matter of protecting our society, but also a way to create new

jobs and an opportunity that needed to be seized. A similar view regarding the creation of green jobs was

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 244: Referat af Trojka-møde og COSAC-møde i Helsinki 1-3/12-19

expressed by Mr Tibor BANA, Hungarian

Országgyű lés

, who also stressed the goals of the Paris

Agreement were ambitious but necessary, and said drastic measures needed to be taken. He also pointed

out the need for major polluters, such as the United States and China, to meet the Paris Agreement criteria.

Mr Elias MYRIANTOUS, Cyprus

Vouli ton Antiprosopon,

also referred to the global context, pointing out

environmental problems were partly caused by third countries that, unlike European Union countries, were

not bound by international agreements, and asked whether the European Union should introduce economic

measures against such countries.

Ms Erika BENKŐ, Romanian

Camera

Deputaţ ilor

, explained how Romania supported the climate

neutrality goals and the implementation of the Paris Agreement, adding that a broad list of stakeholders

should be involved in that effort, and the EU mechanism adjusted to Member States€ possibilities. The view

was shared by Mr Simon SUTOUR, French

Sénat,

who pointed out the need for financial solidarity with

developing countries and island states, and explained France was closing its coal power stations, largely

due to the use of nuclear power, and expressed his view that climate policy should be included in all

European Union policies, including its trade policy. Mr Zoltán TESSELY, Hungarian

Országgyű lés

, also

underlined that achieving climate neutrality would be very difficult without relying on carbon-neutral

nuclear energy, and pointed out the Hungarian commitment to climate protection and achievements in

cutting its greenhouse gas emissions while achieving GDP growth, and the fact that it had been the first

country to ratify the Paris Agreement. Mr TESSELY welcomed the European Commission€s transition fund

that had been announced by Mr

Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ, and underlined that the transformation

of the economy

required funds, which should be taken into account while designing the next MFF.

Ms Kerstin-Oudekki LOONE, Estonian

Riigikogu,

underlined the wide differences between minorities and

majorities in society, underlining the unacceptable situation where only the affluent few can afford the

environmentally-friendly choices, and provided a positive example from Estonia - free public transport.

Mr Angelos VOTSIS, Cyprus

Vouli ton Antiprosopon,

stressed the complex global circumstances, as well

as the complex position of Cyprus, and underlined the need to move towards a carbon-neutral economy by

2050. Furthermore, he stressed that both companies and citizens have to be aware of the need for change

that would not reduce companies€ competitiveness.

Similarly, Ms Sabrina RICCIARDI, Italian

Senato della

Repubblica,

expressed her support for the Green Deal, adding that the economy would have to change to

adjust to the new circumstances and to enable Europe to be the front-runner in the field.

Ms Amanda PALMSTIERNA, Swedish

Riksdag,

focused on the youth, and the need to listen to their

opinions, as well as to listen and proactively act in accordance with the scientists€ advice. She stressed the

need of meeting climate challenges on time, and stressed the importance of investment and best practices

that would make Europe a strong global climate leader. Mr Gerhardt ZICKENHEINER, German

Bundestag,

warned that no Member States of the European Union were reaching the Paris Agreement goals.

He also pointed that the warnings scientists provided were ignored. He expressed his cautious optimism

that the Green Deal represented the last hope, with a small window of opportunity open, and stressed the

importance of cooperation in achieving the climate goals.

Mr Jorge BUXADÉ VILLALBA, European Parliament, while considering the protection of the

environment to be a worthy goal, expressed his concern over how to achieve it and what would be the

effects on the economy, and stated there was no unequivocal scientific proof of what was actually happening

with the climate. He warned people should not be left out, pointing out all European countries are not on

the same footing, and reminded of the thousands of jobs in industries that would be hurt as result of climate-

related policies, such as the car industry.

Mr Bernard DURKAN, Irish

Houses of Oireachtas,

pointed out that Ireland heavily relies on food

production and food exports, and admitted Ireland started late with addressing the carbon issue but believes

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they would achieve the results planned. He underlined the importance of making the climate measures

palatable to citizens and making it clear what was their individual contribution to reducing the carbon

footprint.

Mr Ivan ĆELIĆ, Croatian

Hrvatski sabor,

pointed out Croatia did not have a decisive influence on climate

change, but was nevertheless interested in a global agreement that would prevent further global warming

and its repercussions on air, sea and land, and was taking necessary steps in that direction.

Mr Vladimir ĐURIĆ, Serbian

Narodna skupština

, expressed his view that politicians focusing on

environmental issues were not in focus during accession negotiations with candidate countries. He pointed

out citizens were aware of environmental issues and existing pollution in their countries, and that

environmental issues represented an important element of enlargement policies, as pollution could not be

contained by national borders. Candidate countries should, he concluded, be an important part of the

European Green Deal.

Ms Virginija VINGIENĖ, Lituanian

Seimas,

expressed support for the European Commission€s Green

Deal. She opposed concessions to polluting industries, obsolete technologies and the use of nuclear or

imported energy, and instead urged the EU to uphold its ambitious standards in trade deals, seize the

opportunity for new-generation economy and growth, and show by example that lofty ideas can be turned

into reality.

Ms Sabine THILLAYE, French

Assemblée nationale,

underlined the fact the world is faced with a climate

emergency and urged that a number of comprehensive measures be put in place. Such policies should not

put the economy and the environment in collision but rather be part of a broad transition of our economy

towards a circular model. In conclusion, Ms THILLAYE congratulated Mr TIMONEN and expressed her

belief that results were achieved where there was political will. Mr Gerard CRAUGHWELL, Irish

Houses

of Oireachtas,

also commended the example of Lahti and the actions taken by that community. He pointed

out that the focus should be put on the future of the youth who would inherit the environment. Mr Domagoj

HAJDUKOVIĆ, Croatian

Hrvatski sabor,

also pointed out the importance of action, and commended the

achievements of the City of Lahti that shows the importance of local communities in achieving results. He

also inquired about traffic solutions that might have been introduced in Lahti.

Ms Mairéad McGUINESS, European Parliament, asked whether it was feasible to achieve the ambitious

target of a 70 % emission reduction by 2030, while the European Parliament€s target is 55 %; she inquired

about the technology that would be used in food production instead of soybean, about the ways to motivate

citizens, about the impact of aviation, and the financial incentives, or penalties, that could be used to achieve

results. Mr Georgios KYRSTOS, European Parliament, pointed out that per capita emissions might provide

a different perspective of pollution. He also inquired about the prospects of scientific progress and about

the negative balance for emissions.

In her closing remarks, Ms PANTSAR pointed out the importance of exporting European solutions

globally. She explained it is possible for Europe to reduce the emissions by 70% by 2030 and that many

relevant solutions are already being applied. She also suggested the dissemination of best practices and

their implementation on a broader scale. She raised the issue of who would be the leader after Europe and

challenged the importance of competitiveness.

Mr OLLIKAINEN reminded the audience of the Porter hypothesis that claims that strict environmental

regulations can induce efficiency and encourage innovations that help improve commercial

competitiveness, elaborating on the new technology that could be used in food production. He provided the

requested insight on the per capita emissions, explaining the emissions in the European Union were still

higher than in China and significantly higher than in India. He mentioned potential technological solutions

that could be applied in aviation and shipping, and tackled various possibilities for taxation in aviation.

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Mr TIMONEN thanked the audience for their positive reaction to the measures taken in Lahti. He explained

that Lahti has the world€s first carbon-free

professional sports team, the ice hockey team, which promotes

environmentally friendly practices to its supporters. Mr TIMONEN pointed out the relevance of action

taken at local level, described the events that led to the high level of citizen awareness and involvement in

Lahti, and underlined the importance of collaboration between various stakeholders - citizens, decision-

makers, businesses and academia.

Ms HASSI thanked the speakers and underlined the importance of our actions for the future of our children.

8. Session V

– ‘Intervention by Mr Michel BARNIER, Head of the Task Force for Relations with the

United Kingdom’

Chair: Ms Satu HASSI, Chairperson of the Grand Committee, Finnish

Eduskunta

Ms HASSI introduced and gave the floor to Mr Michel BARNIER, Head of the Task Force for Relations

with the United Kingdom, who started his address by underlining COSAC's added value, which had

continuously grown since its first meeting, in Paris, in 1989. He then recalled his participation to the

COSAC held in Malta, in 2017, as Brexit negotiations were about to start, and the invitation he made on

that occasion to national Parliaments to stay involved in that process. In supporting his invitation, the Chief

Negotiator highlighted the visits he had paid to national Parliaments in order to listen to their specific

concerns, to explain the European Commission's proposals and to share negotiation positions; he also

reiterated his commitment to continue this dialogue in the future, which he considered a democratic

necessity.

Regarding Brexit negotiations, Mr BARNIER said they were difficult, but he relied on the strong unity of

the remaining 27 Member States. He then pointed out the four major objectives followed during these

negotiations: placing people first; protecting the Single Market; ensuring an orderly withdrawal of the

United Kingdom (UK) as a step, not as an end; and preserving a good base for the future of the EU.

With respect to the people, Mr BARNIER first referred to the EU citizens living in the UK and the UK

citizens living in the EU (4.5 million citizens, in total), and stated that a long-term protection of their rights

would only be possible if the withdrawal agreement was ratified. Then he mentioned the need to defend

prosperity, peace and stability for the people in Ireland and Northern Ireland. In this sense, he mentioned

having managed to reach a solution to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, to preserve

the all-island economy, to protect the Single Market's integrity, and to ensure that Northern Ireland

remained in the UK€s customs territory. On this last point, the Chief Negotiator recalled the limited set of

EU rules, notably on goods, that would still be applicable in Northern Ireland; the EU custom duties, which

would still be applicable on goods entering Northern Ireland, destined to reach the Single Market; and the

EU's long-term support for the application of these rules by the UK authorities.

As to the Single Market, Mr BARNIER stressed it was more than a free trade zone; it was the EU's first

economic asset, a source of opportunities and protection for citizens, consumers and businesses, and

therefore needed protection. The Chief Negotiator referred to the Single Market as an ecosystem of common

rules, supervision and jurisdiction, and pointed out that no compromise has ever been agreed during the

Brexit negotiations and no compromise will ever be agreed during the future partnership negotiations with

respect to its integrity.

On the orderly withdrawal of the UK, Mr BARNIER said it was only a step towards a new partnership with

this country, the framework of which was laid in the political Declaration, covering fields such as trade,

investments, data protection, transports, energy, fishery, police and judicial cooperation, foreign policy or

defence. He then referred to the European Commission's commitment to engage in demanding and difficult

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negotiations for this partnership, led in full transparency, in close link with the European Parliament and

national Parliaments, and in an exceptionally short period: 11 months.

Mr BARNIER furthermore stressed that the first pillar of this new partnership with the UK should rely on

solid level playing field guarantees, take into

account matters of competitiveness for businesses, peoples€

rights and life standards, and aim at "zero tariff, zero quota, zero dumping". He then stated that the second

pillar of this partnership should relate to internal and external security and to foreign affairs. In this respect,

the Chief Negotiator recalled the EU's ambitions in terms of defence, as well as the UK's commitment to

remain engaged for the security of Europe.

As to the future of the EU, Mr BARNIER pointed out that this was more important than Brexit. On this

occasion, he once again underlined the strong unity of the 27 remaining Member States, which was built

not only to defend the European common interest, solidarity with Member States most affected by Brexit

and citizens, but the EU future projects, too. For this purpose, the Chief Negotiator highlighted the need to

manage ecological transition and digital revolution, to serve citizens and businesses, to ensure defence in

close cooperation with NATO, and to improve the European democracy.

Finally, Mr BARNIER referred to the British elections and to the EU's neutrality on this matter. He

reminded nonetheless that the EU was ready for all scenarios resulting from these elections, and prepared

to start negotiations for the new partnership with the UK.

In the ensuing debate, 22 speakers took the floor and many of them, such as Ms Gabriela CREŢU,

Romanian

Senat;

Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK Hungarian

Országgyű lés

; Mr Domagoj

HAJDUKOVIĆ,

Croatian

Hrvatski sabor;

Ms Barbara MASINI, Italian

Senato della Repubblica;

Mr Bernard DURKAN Irish

Houses

of the Oireachtas;

Mr Pål JONSON, Swedish

Riksdag;

Mr Gerard CRAUGHWELL, Irish

Houses of the

Oireachtas;

Mr Angelos VOTSIS, Cyprus

Vouli ton Antiprosopon;

Ms Mairéad McGUINNESS, European

Parliament; and Mr Philippe BONNECARRÈRE, French

Sénat;

explicitly thanked the Chief Negotiator

for the way he had performed his duties.

A number of speakers echoed Mr BARNIER's words about the need to put people first. In this respect, Mr

HAJDUKOVIĆ and Ms MASINI showed concerns as to the European citizens living in the UK, Ms Isabel

MEIRELES, Portuguese

Assembleia da República,

pointed out that 500,000 Portuguese nationals were in

this situation, whereas Mr Pedro CEGONHO, Portuguese

Assembleia da República,

said the rights of these

people needed to be protected. Mr Jorge BUXADÉ VILLALBA, European Parliament, also referred to the

need to place citizens in the frontline and to solve their interests first, while highlighting that 180,000

Spanish people were living in the UK and 300,000 British nationals lived in Spain. From a functional

perspective, Ms McGUINNESS wondered about the impact of Brexit on the EU institutions and, from an

economic one, Mr Mark DEMESMAEKER, Belgian

Sénat

pleaded for the European citizens' protection

by extending the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund to companies having up to 500 employees.

Economic concerns made their way through the debate, too. Ms MEIRELES reminded the UK was an

important commercial partner to Portugal and Ms Ines STRENJA, Croatian

Hrvatski sabor,

referred to the

threat of economic recession brought by the country's withdrawal from the EU. In this respect, she pointed

out the business sector's uncertainties, which made it easier for states like the USA, China or Russia to

profit, while Mr DEMESMAEKER stated that the UK was the fourth commercial partner for Flanders and

asked for reduced trading barriers in the post-Brexit era. As to this particular trade era, Mr Pierre-Henri

DUMONT, French

Assemblée nationale,

underlined the EU should ensure the integrity of the Single Market

and a level playing field and Mr BUXADÉ VILLALBA showed preoccupations as to possible dumping

practices in the field of farming. Ms MASINI emphasised that exports towards the UK needed protection,

especially with regard to geographical indications, Mr HÖRCSIK said commerce was an important

component of the future partnership with the UK, and Mr Jean BIZET, French

Sénat,

wondered if the future

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free trade agreement with the UK would be a mixed one. Mr BONNECARRÈRE echoed this concern and

furthermore questioned the possibility to combine a free trade agreement with all necessary guarantees to

preserve the Single Market.

Many speakers referred to the UK's orderly withdrawal, too. Ms Erika

BENKŐ,

Romanian

Camera

Deputaţ ilor

, said her country was committed to stay aligned to the European position for such orderly

withdrawal and highlighted the fairness of the last compromise reached with the UK. Mr Neale

RICHMOND, Irish

Houses of the Oireachtas,

showed the Union was, once again, waiting for the UK's

move, while Mr CEGONHO pleaded for patience, stressing a hard Brexit would cause disturbance. Mr

HÖRCSIK went even further, describing the "no deal" scenario as a real disaster and pointing out that

decision was in the hands of the British. In this respect, Mr BIZET said the elections in the UK would bring

more clarifications. Mr Alessandro GIGLIO VIGNA, Italian

Camera dei deputati,

argued that the EU

should respect Member States' sovereignty, but Ms CREȚU

congratulated the

Chief Negotiator for having

avoided contagion and for having preserved unity across the EU.

Looking ahead, Ms MASINI underscored that the work had not ended especially with regard to protecting

citizens€ rights.

Mr CEGONHO expressed hope that the future agreement would result in a balanced

outcome and that the EU and the UK would remain good neighbours. Mr DUMONT pleaded for preserving

unity during the negotiations on the future relationship. Ms McGUINNESS wondered if 11 months was a

sufficient time period to negotiate this partnership with the UK, while Ms

BENKŐ,

and Mr RICHMOND

placed high hopes in fruitful negotiations and in a good new partnership. Ms MEIRELES showed concerns

about the situation in Ireland, whereas Mr BIZET spoke about bilateral agreements with the UK on defence,

intelligence and energy. Mr JONSON referred to internal and external security, making three suggestions:

UK to have full access to the EU's military management crisis operations, British defence industrial base

to have access to the intra-EU cooperation enabled by PESCO and Defence Fund, and the European

Security Council to take the UK on board. Mr HÖRCSIK confirmed that security, defence and data

protection should make the scope of the future partnership with the UK, too.

Mr DUMONT highlighted the importance of fishery, warning that a shift of fishing activities from the

territorial waters of the UK to the waters of France and Belgium could lead into overfishing in the latter.

Mr BONNECARRÈRE asked about the compatibility of the future trade agreement with the internal

market, Mr BUXADÉ VILLALBA expected answers about negotiations paving the way for Gibraltar's

decolonisation, while Ms CREȚU

and Mr

KAIRIDIS asked to learn from the EU's mistakes throughout the

whole Brexit process. In this respect, Mr Georgios KYRTSOS, European Parliament, underlined that,

before talking about dumping from the UK, the EU should focus more on the intra-European fiscal dumping

and asked the Chief Negotiator if the EU was ready for a scenario where the Labour Party would win the

British elections.

Taking the floor for his final remarks, Mr BARNIER thanked the speakers for their support, but warned

Brexit was not over and that, in any case, there was no room for congratulations on a divorce. Looking

forward, the Chief Negotiator referred to the geopolitical context of Brexit and stressed the fact that no

Member State could cope with the future challenges alone; he therefore urged to stay European and united.

With respect to the lessons learnt from Brexit, Mr BARNIER pointed out that the EU had to listen to popular

concerns, to address real challenges and to show the EU's added value. On this occasion, he said people in

the UK were victims of fake news, having the feeling the EU did not protect them nor did anything to avoid

deindustrialisation.

Concerning the 4.5 million citizens concerned by Brexit, Mr BARNIER reiterated that their best protection

was to ratify and implement the withdrawal agreement, observing, however, that it was protective until

2020 and underlining he could not anticipate on the post-2020 British immigration policy. As to a hard

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Brexit, he stressed the EU had done everything to avoid it and reminded the withdrawal agreement was

reached with the British Government already in November 2018.

As to the future partnership with the UK, the Chief Negotiator said it should be economic and strategic. On

defence, he referred to the Political Declaration, which revealed the areas where a strategic partnership

could be built: cooperation in external actions, cooperation between intelligence services, combating cyber-

attacks and political cooperation. On economy, he said the future free trade agreement would also include

provisions on fishery and a level playing field. Regarding fishery, Mr BARNIER highlighted the idea of

providing access for European vessels in British waters in exchange for correct access of the British fishery

products to the Single Market. Regarding the level playing field, he said it would concern taxation matters,

environment or even social rights. In any case, the Chief Negotiator stressed that the level of access of the

British products to the Single Market would depend on the long-term obligations undertaken by the UK.

Furthermore, Mr BARNIER mentioned that the future partnership with the UK would be complex and

comprise not only matters of shared competences, but also matters where the EU had exclusive competence.

Moreover, he stressed that 11 months to negotiate it were not enough and that, as a result, he might not be

able to conduct negotiations in all areas of interest during these 11 months. In this respect, he warned that

some of such areas might be negotiated at a later stage and took the opportunity to remark that there would

be many negotiations, including on agriculture, governance or dispute settlements, but the negotiating

speeds would be different. He stressed that if the transition period could not be extended as of the end of

2020, the negotiations during the 11 months had to guarantee the minimum basis for future relations in

order to avoid a precarious end of the transition period at the end of 2020.

On Gibraltar, Mr BARNIER underlined that there was a separate protocol on the matter in the withdrawal

agreement and that, in the future, this will be the subject of different and specific negotiations.

As to the outcome of the British elections and their impact, the Chief Negotiator reiterated that the EU

was ready for the Brexit to take place on 31 January 2020 and reassured it was fully aware of all

sensitivities of the different Member States and regions with respect to Brexit and its implications. On

this occasion, he stressed the EU would do as much as it could to express solidarity for the exposed

regions and Member States after Brexit with all instruments available to it even though all measures could

not be taken during the first 11 months after Brexit. He also mentioned he would continue to work in a

transparent way and urged to continue to have faith in the EU and its Single Market.

Finally, Mr BARNIER said the Brexit was a lose-lose case after which the UK would no longer have the

status of a Member State. He assured his commitment to continue negotiating in good faith and transparency

and maintaining dialogue.

9. Adoption of the Contribution and Conclusions of the LXII COSAC

The texts of the Contribution and Conclusions of the LXII COSAC were unanimously adopted with no

amendment.

Ms HASSI then thanked everyone involved in ensuring the meeting a success and closed the conference.