Forward look: 22 May – 4 June 2023

Overview of the main topics and events at the Council of EU and European Council for the coming fortnight.

Competitiveness Council, 22-23 May 2023

On 22 May, ministers responsible for the internal market and industry will aim to adopt regulation establishing a framework for setting ecodesign requirements for sustainable products. They will also discuss long term competitiveness and how to secure sustainable supply of critical raw materials.

On 23 May, ministers for research will adopt conclusions on scholarly publishing and hold a debate on knowledge security and responsible internationalization. Ministers responsible for space will adopt conclusions on ‘Fair and sustainable use of space’ and hold a debate on the opportunities of the so-called New Space.

Foreign Affairs Council, 22 May 2023

On 22 May the Foreign Affairs Council will exchange views on the Russian aggression against Ukraine, Western Balkans and the Horn of Africa.

Foreign Affairs Council (Defence), 23 May 2023

On 23 May the FAC Defence will be informed about current affairs and discuss EU support to Ukraine.

Foreign Affairs Council (Trade), 25 May 2023

The Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) will discuss EU-US and EU-China trade relations. Ministers will also be informed about the preparations for the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference. Ongoing bilateral trade negotiations will be on the table during a working lunch.

Agriculture and Fisheries Council, 30 May 2023

Agriculture and fisheries ministers will meet in Brussels on 30 May to discuss the market situation, in particular following the invasion of Ukraine, food safety and food waste aspects of the regulation on packaging and packaging waste, and drought in southern Europe.

General Affairs Council, 30 May 2023

Ministers will focus on European Council preparations and the Article 7 procedures regarding Poland and Hungary.

Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (Transport), 1 June 2023

The Council will hold a policy debate on the Commission’s proposal regarding the revised directive on driving licences, take note of a progress report on the directive to facilitate cross-border exchange of information on road safety-related traffic offences, and discuss the state of play of current legislative files in the field of transport.

Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (Telecommunications), 2 June 2023

The Council is expected to take note of progress reports on key legislative files for the Union’s digital transformation:

  • the regulation on measures to reduce the cost of deploying gigabit electronic communications networks (gigabit infrastructure act)
  • the regulation laying down measures for a high level of public interoperability across the Union (interoperable Europe act)
  • the regulation on horizontal cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements (cyber resilience act)
  • ministers will also hold a policy debate on the future of the connectivity sector and discuss the state of play on a number of current legislative files in the field of telecommunications