Hungarian Presidency: Council info and EU Publications

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The system of rotating presidencies goes back to the very beginning of the European integration. Every six months, a member state becomes the president of the Council of the EU and helps ensure the smooth running of the EU legislative process.

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Hungary holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of the year, starting on 1 July. Here are the priorities of the Hungarian presidency for this semester:
1. New European Competitiveness Deal
2. The reinforcement of European defence policy
3. A consistent and merit-based enlargement policy
4. Stemming illegal migration
5. Shaping the future of cohesion policy
6. A farmer-oriented EU agricultural policy
7. Addressing demographic challenges

See all the Council presidencies up to 2030.

EU leaders collectively discuss and agree the EU’s direction and goals for 2024-2029.

Rule of law is one of the EU’s founding values, and essential to its very functioning. It is fundamental for the application of EU law, protects citizens and establishes the conditions for a well-functioning single market.

The EU’s budget has developed over several decades in step with the evolution of the European Union. It provides for the financing of programmes and actions in all EU policy areas, from agriculture and regional policy, to research, enterprise and space.

The EU and its member states are intensifying efforts to establish an effective, humanitarian and safe European migration policy.

The EU integrates new members through the enlargement process once they meet a number of political and economic conditions. The process encourages democratic and economic reforms in countries that want to become EU members and promotes greater stability and prosperity in Europe.

To better protect its citizens and defend its values, the EU needs to take strategic action on defence and increase its capacity to act autonomously.

The EU’s industrial policy aims to strengthen the competitiveness of EU industry and to promote a more sustainable, resilient and digitalised economy that creates jobs.

Europe’s future depends on a healthy planet. EU countries are committed to achieving climate neutrality by 2050, delivering on the commitments under the Paris Agreement. The European Green Deal is the EU’s strategy for reaching the 2050 goal.

Economic governance is a key pillar of the architecture of the Economic and Monetary Union, aiming to detect and correct economic imbalances that could weaken national economies or affect other EU countries through cross-border spillovers.

The single market ensures the free movement of goods, services, capital and people. It facilitates everyday life, stimulates growth and boosts innovation.

The common agricultural policy (CAP) supports farmers in their role as providers of high-quality and affordable food for EU citizens.

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The need to reconcile climate and defence priorities is becoming increasingly pressing, especially at a time of significant increases in military activities and expenditure. This has received explicit support from the NATO Secretary General, who, in line with efforts undertaken so far by the EU, underlined the importance of having armed forces that are both robust and environmentally responsible. This paper investigates this topic, although it does not address the broader issue of the impact of warfare itself on C02 emissions and the environment. T

The paper states that 2024 will be "a year of unprecedented uncertainty". Three factors in particular are set to play a major role: a weakening global order; a global economy undergoing fundamental shifts; and the numerous important elections taking place across the world

Strategic autonomy is not a new concept, but it has recently taken centre stage in European public and policy debate. In the current debate, ‘strategic autonomy’ has been defined in different ways, often focusing on what it is not, rather than on what it is. This paper makes three main arguments: firstly, that there are important lessons to be drawn from the different definitions of ‘strategic autonomy; secondly, that it must be understood in the context of parallel policies pursued by other major international players; and thirdly, that the operationalisation of ‘strategic autonomy’ requires explicit strategic choices at the highest political level, taking into account both its expected benefits and its costs.

Hungary is a parliamentary democracy with a unicameral parliament, the Országgyűlés (National Assembly). The structure and functioning of Hungary's political system are determined by the Fundamental Law of 25 April 2011, which has been amended 12 times since its entry into force in 2012. The National Assembly elects the President of the Republic (head of state), whose role is primarily representative but entails some complementary and controlling competences vis-à-vis the legislative, executive and judicial powers. The executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister, proposed by the President and elected by the National Assembly. The Prime Minister chooses the ministers, who together with him/her, compose the government. The Prime Minister also defines the government's general policy.

This study aims to open a dialogue among policy makers and feed discussions on the future of Cohesion Policy. It looks to inform decisions about possible futures based on shared EU values that shape both the Single Market and Cohesion Policy. To do so, this study looks into the historical evolution of the Single Market and Cohesion Policy. It also links member state contributions to the EU budget and funding from Cohesion Policy, as well as the latter’s economic and non-economic spill overs. Furthermore, the study presents three future scenarios for Cohesion Policy and offers conclusions and recommendations.

Totalling EUR 392 billion for the 2021-2027 period, Cohesion Policy is the main EU investment policy to implement the Treaty objective of strengthening the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the EU and reducing disparities between the levels of development of various regions. Cohesion Policy targets all regions and cities in the European Union in order to support job creation, business competitiveness, economic growth and sustainable development, and improve citizens’ quality of life.

The Youth for reviving (stagnating) EU territories project aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the reasons that young Europeans have for leaving their regions of origin or staying there. The project also sought to identify policies that could attract young people who had left their regions of origin back home or encourage those who had not yet left to stay.

The demography toolbox, devised by the European Commission, incorporates insights from across the EU and presents a holistic strategy to address demographic transformation through four key areas: supporting parents, empowering younger generations, enhancing the well-being of older generations, and managing migration effectively. The toolbox acknowledges the importance of considering the geographical aspects of demographic trends, particularly in areas facing population decline and notable emigration of young workers. This briefing delves into the initiatives implemented following the release of two pivotal Commission communications: the green paper on ageing and the long-term vision for rural areas. It outlines the EU legislative instruments and programmes that bolster the four central components of the toolbox.

This report uses rich global survey data from the Gallup World Poll to analyse the relationship between environmental conditions, displacement and migration. The report confirms the established finding that the connections between environmental factors and human mobility patterns at various spatial scales are complex and context specific. In particular, the report suggests that in less-developed regions an expectation of higher risks of future environmental disasters leads to a lower individual desire to migrate internationally.

This report focuses on the challenges that the EU Member States and Norway face when receiving and integrating refugees who fled Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in February 2022. It investigates their labour market integration and access to and experiences with public services that are crucial for societal inclusion. The main aim is to explore and highlight the interplay between different areas of integration: employment, housing arrangements, healthcare (including mental health care), access to childcare and social assistance.

This policy brief offers insights from a portfolio analysis of Horizon 2020's SC6 and Horizon Europe's Cluster 2 projects, showcasing their pivotal role in advancing EU migration research and policy integration. It outlines the recent Pact on Asylum and Migration's significance and urges for research focus on critical areas such as the climate-migration nexus and technological innovations in migration management. This analysis underscores the need to ensure migration policies are informed, inclusive, and prepared for future trends and challenges.

This foresight study explores possible and necessary changes in the European social and economic systems as the European Union engages in managing sustainability transitions towards 2050. It presents strategic areas of intervention covering a new social contract, governance for sustainability, people and economy, and the global perspective on sustainability. It reflects on the agency of EU actors (such as government at various levels, business, and communities) to address the strategic areas of intervention as part of collectively addressing sustainability transitions.

After more than 60 years of peace, Europe faced a watershed moment in its security, in February 2022. Following a brief overview of how years of underinvestment and fragmentation have left many weaknesses in EU defence, this study analyses the evolution of the EU defence strategy, the contribution by the EU budget and by national budgets. Finally, the paper investigates to what extent the recent increase of defence spending can have a positive effect on growth, by examining the link between defence spending and economic growth, on the basis of the existing literature.

The founding aspiration of European integration was to provide peace. Over the decades, commitment to democracy has become a feature of the EU, enshrined in the Treaty of Lisbon among its core values. This policy analysis presents and discusses the evolving discourses and policies of the EU with regard to democracy, focusing on the impact the Russian invasion of Ukraine has had on this process.

This climate risk management guide supports Chiefs of Defence Staff, the highest-ranking military officers in the armed forces, in incorporating climate change considerations into their planning and budgeting, while enhancing climate resilience within their organisations. By bridging the gap between climate adaptation and risk management, they align their strategies with the European Union’s acknowledgement of the climate change-security nexus, enabling them to navigate climate uncertainty effectively. In this regard, the guide also includes a checklist to assist Chiefs of Defence Staff in assessing their organisation’s status in climate risk management.

This paper reviews the state of EU competitiveness and introduces a strategy to improve it, based on medium-term, sector-level coordination of Member State reform policies and/or investments. The idea is illustrated with two examples: an investment and reform programme to create a single EU electricity market and an Advanced Research Projects Agency (EU-ARPA). This document was provided/prepared by the Economic Governance and EMU Scrutiny Unit at the request of the ECON Committee.

This study is a part of a project “Comparative analysis of agricultural sectors and rural areas in the pre-accession countries: Agricultural policy developments, situation of the agri-food sector and economic context” funded by Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission. It is part of a series of assessments, aiming to monitor the development of the agri-food sector in the Western Balkan countries/territories (WB) and Türkiye. The study focuses on the changes in the years 2020 and 2021 and the developments of currently important topics, such as Covid-19, greening, and the approximation of agriculture and rural development policies to the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

This short-term outlook edition provides a forecast of market developments for key agricultural markets in 2024 and 2025 (only for cereal and oilseeds), based on market intelligence available until mid-March 2024. Presented prospects are taking into account (among other factors) the latest available information on availability and prices of inputs (e.g. feed, energy, fertilisers) and consumer price developments (food inflation), to the extent possible. A certain level of uncertainty is linked to the future weather developments as well as geopolitical and economic events impacting global markets in the future. These developments will be further followed and the next edition will be published in Autumn 2024.

Competition between firms takes place in an evolving economic and policy environment. The present report seeks to assess how the conditions of competition have changed in the EU over the past 25 years and what may have been the main drivers of those changes. It also seeks to assess how effective or weak competition impacts competitiveness and overall economic growth in the EU. It draws on contributions from the OECD, a consortium of researchers led by Lear and by DG Competition itself.

This study analyses how the CAP and state aid support farm competitiveness, including the role of young farmers and women. Challenges and drivers of EU farm competitiveness are identified. Key competitiveness indicators are analysed and their limitations are considered. The level of CAP support to competitiveness is assessed, with a comparison of the 2014-2022 and 2023-2027 programming periods. The study illustrates the Member States’ differentiated approaches to supporting competitiveness.

L'UE dispose depuis plus de vingt ans d'un marché de l'électricité efficace et bien intégré, qui permet aux consommateurs de profiter des avantages économiques d'un marché unique de l'énergie, en assurant la sécurité de l'approvisionnement et en stimulant le processus de décarbonation. La crise énergétique provoquée par l'invasion de l'Ukraine par la Russie a mis en évidence l'importance de faire bénéficier les consommateurs de la transition écologique. Une accélération du déploiement des énergies renouvelables nationales offre à l'UE l'occasion de renforcer sa sécurité énergétique et de réduire les importations de combustibles fossiles, rendant ainsi les factures des consommateurs moins dépendantes de la volatilité des prix des combustibles fossiles.

La compétitivité à long terme de l’UE nécessite un cadre européen tourné vers l’avenir, bien défini et coordonné, qui puisse éclairer les décisions d’investissement pour les années à venir.

Deux facteurs essentiels : l’excellence et des conditions de concurrence équitables.