Ian Borg, Parliamentary Secretary for the EU Presidency 2017 and EU Funds, Ivan Korcok, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Plenipotentiary of the Government for the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU 2016 and Thijs van der Plas, Deputy Director-General for European Cooperation for The Netherlands, held the fifth Trio meeting at State Secretary level in Brussels.
The aim of the meeting was to discuss the Trio Work Programme, which will guide the work of the subsequent Dutch, Slovak and Maltese Presidencies. Members of the European Commission and General Secretariat of the European Council were also present at the meeting.
The Trio agreed to have a shorter, more operational Work Programme focusing on legislative items. This would be based on priorities previously agreed by the Trio.
The Trio had agreed, at the start of their discussions, to seek to modernise the Work Programme and adopt it by December 2015 at the General Affairs Council. The Trio also agreed that the Work Programme would be aligned with the actions of each Presidency in the respective national Programmes. Furthermore, the three representatives recognised the importance of ensuring that the Work Programme would also be linked with the Letter of Intent of the Commission, which outlined the main initiatives that it will take until the end of 2016.
Among other matters, efforts will centre on determined action on the refugee crisis and migration, on supporting jobs and growth, in particular through investment and deepening the single market, on strengthening the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and its social dimension, and on working for a fairer tax regime. The Multiannual Financial Framework will be also reviewed to see if EU programmes are fit to meet today’s many challenges in the simplest and most effective manner.
During the meeting Malta recalled that prior to the adoption of the Work Programme; it would engage its national Parliament and Civil Society in a public dialogue precisely on this matter.
Close consultations among the Trio will continue in the coming months.