EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 1011: Referat af COSAC-formandsmøde (videokonference) 14/9-20

Europaudvalget 2019-20
EUU Alm.del Bilag 1011
Offentligt

MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE CHAIRPERSONS OF COSAC

Berlin, Germany, 14 September 2020

(held via videoconference)

AGENDA:

1. Opening of the meeting

- Welcome address by Dr Dietmar WOIDKE, President of the German

Bundesrat

- Introductory remarks by Mr Guido WOLF, Chairman of the Committee on

European Union Questions of the Bundesrat, German

Bundesrat

2. Adoption of the agenda of the meeting of the Chairpersons of COSAC

3. Procedural issues and miscellaneous matters

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

Letters received by the Presidency

Topics and organisational aspects of the LXIV COSAC

Procedural issues

4. Report by the German Federal Government on the priorities of the German

Presidency

Keynote speaker: Mr Heiko MAAS, Federal Foreign Minister of Germany

5. Dealing with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and lessons learned

Keynote speaker: Mr Frans TIMMERMANS, Executive Vice-President of the EU

Commission for a European Green Deal

PROCEEDINGS

IN THE CHAIR: Mr Guido WOLF, Chairman of the Committee on European Union Questions of

the Bundesrat, German

Bundesrat;

and Mr Gunther KRICHBAUM, Chairman of the Committee on

European Union Affairs of the German

Bundestag

1. Opening of the meeting

- Welcome address by Dr Dietmar WOIDKE, President of the German

Bundesrat

- Introductory Remarks by Mr Guido WOLF, Chairman of the Committee on European

Questions of the Bundesrat, German Bundesrat

Mr Guido WOLF, Chairman of the Committee on European Union Questions of the German

Bundesrat,

opened the meeting. He thanked the preceding Croatian Presidency held under the

unprecedented circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic and expressed his gratitude to Mr Domagoj

MILOŠEVIĆ,

former Chair of the European Affairs Committee of the Croatian

Hrvatski sabor,

for

his commitment. Mr WOLF then gave the floor to Dr Dietmar WOIDKE, President of the German

Bundesrat,

to deliver his welcome address.

Dr WOIDKE welcomed participants to the meeting and emphasized the importance of the COSAC

Chairpersons Meeting as a platform for inter-parliamentary exchange, especially against the

background of the ongoing pandemic. He noted that 3 October 2020 marked the 30th anniversary of

the German reunification, an event which illustrated that only a unified Europe was a strong Europe.

He explained that the European principles of unity and diversity were important to the work of the

German

Bundesrat,

the second legislative organ in the Federal Republic of Germany next to the

German

Bundestag.

The President concluded by stressing the need to take responsibility and work

together at a European level, in line with the slogan of the German EU Council Presidency: "Together

for Europe's recovery".

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 1011: Referat af COSAC-formandsmøde (videokonference) 14/9-20

Mr WOLF also welcomed his colleagues and congratulated the newly appointed Chairs among the

participants: Mr

Domagoj HAJDUKOVIĆ, Croatian

Hrvatski sabor,

and Mr Dario STEFANO,

Italian

Senato della Repubblica.

He congratulated Ms Mairead McGUINNESS on her nomination as

EU Commissioner-Designate for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets

Union. He thanked Ms McGUINNESS for her work within the COSAC platform and gave her the

floor.

Ms McGUINNESS thanked the Chairpersons and the team at the European Parliament for the good

collaboration. She said that working well together was even more important during a pandemic: it

had to be assured that parliaments could continue their essential work despite that challenge. National

Parliaments were also going to be vital in ensuring the passing of the Recovery Fund which needed

to be ratified by the national Parliaments. She emphasised the importance of the role of national

Parliaments given their closeness to European citizens.

2. Adoption of the agenda for the Meeting of the Chairpersons of COSAC

Mr WOLF

presented the draft agenda of the COSAC Chairpersons‚ meeting,

which was approved

without amendment.

3. Procedural issues and miscellaneous matters

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

- Letters received by the Presidency

- Topics and organisational aspects of the LXIV COSAC

- Procedural issues

Mr Gunther KRICHBAUM, Chairman of the Committee on European Union Affairs of the German

Bundestag,

referred to the Presidential Troika meeting that had taken place on 13 July 2020 via

videoconference, during which the Troika had decided to adhere to the Rules of Procedure and the

interpretation of the provisions agreed to in 2005 by inviting candidate countries and, in the case of

other non-EU Member States, only those delegations affected by the discussion and subjects of the

meeting. Furthermore, an invitation did not automatically grant the right to take the floor given the

limited speaking time available.

Mr KRICHBAUM referred to the letters received by the Presidency, whereby a number of

Parliaments/Chambers had requested to participate during the COSAC meeting(s). For this particular

meeting, the delegations of Switzerland, Norway and Iceland had been invited as they were members

of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and partly of the European Economic Area (EEA)

and because a session dedicated to the immediate repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic was on

the agenda. Georgia had also requested to participate in the Chairpersons Meeting, but had not been

invited for the above-mentioned reasons due to the lack of a direct thematic connection to the

measures taken on European Union level. The United Kingdom had been invited in line with its

financial commitments and contribution to COSAC previously agreed to and lasting till the end of

the same year.

Mr KRICHBAUM further referred to the letter from the Presidency on the LXIV COSAC Plenary

sent to the COSAC Chairpersons on 10 September 2020. He said that even in the event that attending

the meeting in person was possible at the end of the year, the German

Bundestag

could not welcome

the usual 350 participants due to restrictions related to the pandemic. At best, it would be possible to

host a limited number of 3-4 participants per delegation in Berlin, with the intention of making the

meeting available by means of videoconference to those unable to travel. For the same reasons the

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 1011: Referat af COSAC-formandsmøde (videokonference) 14/9-20

language regime had to be limited. For the virtual part it would possibly be only English. It was

decided to hold the meeting as an Extraordinary Chairpersons Meeting.

Mr KRICHBAUM referred to the main topics on the agenda: review of the German Presidency with

German Federal Chancellor, Ms Angela MERKEL, exchange on the future of Europe with President

of the European Commission, Ms Ursula von der LEYEN (tbc), lessons learned and Cooperation in

the EU in the event of pandemics and in health care, with Mr Jens SPAHN, German Federal Minister

of Health (tbc) and Mr Andrea AMMON, Director of the European Centre for Disease Prevention

and Control. In parallel, break-out sessions on the reinvigoration of the European economy, especially

in view of the Conference on the Future of Europe, the subtopics "Environmental and Climate

Protection" and "Digital Change" would to be discussed in-depth, followed

by a session on the EU‚s

partnership with Africa with the former Federal President of Germany, Mr Horst KÖHLER. One

time-slot had been reserved in order to be able to debate a topical matter of current particular interest

to be named at short notice.

Mr KRICHBAUM reminded participants of the questionnaire related to the 34th Biannual Report,

sent on 24 July 2020. Deadline for replies to the questionnaire was 25 September 2020. In addition,

he announced that several informal exchanges were going to take place. The Chairpersons of COSAC

had been invited to an exchange with EU Chief Negotiator, Michel BARNIER on 17 September and

presumably on 1 October with Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Margrethe

VESTAGER. A meeting with Commissioner for Justice Didier REYNDERS on the Rule of Law was

planned for the end of October.

4. Report by the German Federal Government on the priorities of the German Presidency

Keynote speaker: Mr Heiko MAAS, Federal Foreign Minister of Germany

Mr Guido WOLF, Chairman of the Committee on European Union Questions, German

Bundesrat,

gave the floor to Mr MAAS, Federal Foreign Minister of Germany, to present the priorities of the

German Presidency of the Council of the EU.

Mr MAAS noted that the programme of the German Presidency had initially been planned before the

virus outbreak. Despite the pandemic, to which there had been a quick and responsive response, he

stressed that the German Presidency did not wish to be a purely corona-crisis Presidency, as there

were policy areas in which decisions were imperative, notwithstanding the pandemic crisis.

Therefore, work was being done on several issues and open dossiers as the German Presidency tried

to pave the way for the Portuguese and Slovenian Presidencies. He emphasised that finding a

consensus on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and its sectoral programmes was the key

priority of the German Presidency. Mr MAAS stated that the agreement of the European Council of

21 July 2020 on the MFF and the recovery plan was a historic and very important moment for the EU

and its citizens, because it proved that the EU acted in solidarity when it mattered. He informed the

parliamentarians that the negotiations with the European Parliament in this area had started at the end

of August and that the intention was to conclude them as soon as possible, despite the known

difficulties.

Mr MAAS referred to the negotiations between the European Union and the United Kingdom as a

second major priority of the German Presidency. He expressed his concern about what would happen

as of January 2021 and noted that the Internal Market Bill proposed by the UK Government would

undermine the Northern Ireland Protocol, and would constitute a violation of international law. Mr

MAAS informed participants that the 8th round of EU-UK negotiations had taken place the week

before and dealt with very important areas such as competition and fisheries, but no concrete progress

had been achieved. He reassured the parliamentarians that under the leadership of Mr Michel

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 1011: Referat af COSAC-formandsmøde (videokonference) 14/9-20

BARNIER, EU Chief Negotiator, the EU was still aiming at retaining close relations with the United

Kingdom, but was also preparing for a no-deal scenario at the end of the transitional period, including

contingency plans.

Mr MAAS also introduced the other priorities for the German Presidency, that included the green

recovery and digital transition of the EU, and stressed the importance of maintaining digital

sovereignty and the importance in this respect of the EU‚s relations with China and

the United States,

also in view of shaping democratic processes. He also referred to the migration and asylum policies,

an area where Member States had diverging views. He welcomed, in this respect, the European

Commission proposals expected in late September and expressed his hope that the German

Presidency would be able to make progress in this area, also as means of preparation for the

Portuguese Presidency. Similarly, Mr MAAS stated that he looked forward to the discussions in the

Council on the first Commission report on the Rule of Law and encouraged national Parliaments to

use the opportunity to discuss the report which would be available in September.

With regard to EU Foreign Policy, he stressed the need to act together as a Union, stating that this

was one of the priorities of the German Presidency. He mentioned as examples the situation in

Belarus, the relations with Turkey and the situation in Lebanon. He highlighted that the German

Presidency would pay attention to the situation between Turkey and Greece and Cyprus, build the

foundations in the next European Council to prevent escalation of the situation and use all available

mechanisms to reach a diplomatic solution. In addition, the Minister shared his concerns with respect

to China and the situation in Xinjiang and in Hong Kong, referring to the concurrent discussions on

trade, economic relations and human rights issues being held between the EU leaders and the

President of the People‚s Republic of China.

Mr MAAS stated that the German Presidency was also

very keen to deepen the relations with Africa and was seeking to organize a summit meeting with the

African Union to define a common strategy for the coming years. Finally, with respect to Western

Balkans, he expressed his support for the accession process for Albania and North Macedonia and

said that the German Presidency wanted to create an adequate basis for the future Presidencies to

make concrete progress.

During the debate that followed, 13 speakers took the floor. In their interventions, parliamentarians

expressed overall their support for the German priorities and praised the ambition shown by the

Presidency. Also many of the speakers wished good success to Ms Mairead McGUINNESS, outgoing

First Vice-President of the European Parliament in charge of national Parliaments, in light of her

nomination as EU Commissioner-Designate.

A number of speakers referred to the

EU‚s

relations in the international context and commented on

the current geopolitical situation and on the EU‚s relations with third countries.

Mr Reinhold

LOPATKA, Austrian

Nationalrat,

congratulated the German Presidency for the interventions with

respect to Belarus, tensions between Turkey and Greece and Cyprus and the poisoning of Russian

opposition politician and activist, Alexei Navalny. Ms Gabriela CREȚU,

Romanian

Senat,

noted that

multilateralism was fundamental and called for the German Presidency and the High Representative

to work towards eliminating Member States‚ divide and for redefining common positions towards

China and Russia. She also questioned the ability of post-war international organisations to adapt to

today‚s challenges and specifically asked about the German position in view of a

World Trade

Organization (WTO) reform. Mr Gediminas KIRKILAS, Lithuanian

Seimas,

stressed the important

role of the EU as a global actor and called for concrete action to help Belarus towards a democratic

process, in particular to fight repression of citizens and media and to organise new democratic

elections. In this regard, he informed the Chairs of a draft letter he had prepared and that he would

distribute after the meeting for co-signing, and asked for their support. Mr Dimitrios KAIRIDIS,

Greek

Vouli ton Ellinon,

focused on Turkey and described the behaviour of Turkey‚s President as

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 1011: Referat af COSAC-formandsmøde (videokonference) 14/9-20

provocative and aggressive. Besides the tension created in the Eastern Mediterranean, Mr KAIRIDIS

listed some examples, such as the Turkish decisions about Hagia Sofia and Turkish interference in

Syria, in Libya and in Israel as well as Turkish support of Alexander Lukashenko and Nicolás Maduro

and finally asked the German Presidency to explain how this behaviour from a candidate country

could be reconciled with what the EU represented.

The agreement in the European Council in July 2020 on the recovery plan was praised by a number

of participants who agreed that this was a historic move achieved during the German Presidency.

However, Ms Dita CHARANZOVÁ, European Parliament, noted that Members of the European

Parliament could not accept the European Council‚s political

agreement on the 2021-2027 MFF as it

stood, as flagship programmes were at risk of not being allocated adequate funds. The European

Parliament would therefore be prepared to withhold consent. Both Ms CHARANZOVÁ and Mr

Dragomir STOYNEV, Bulgarian

Narodno sabranie,

highlighted the importance of the new own

resources decision and underlined that in some cases this had to be ratified by the national Parliaments

of the Member States by the end of the year. Ms CHARANZOVÁ called on the Council Presidency

to invest in supporting a smooth ratification process in the different Member States. On his part, Mr

STOYNEV thanked the Chairs who had already signed the letter he had previouisly proposed,

addressed to the President of the European Commission regarding the active involvement of the

national Parliaments of the Member States in the drafting procedure for the regional recovery and

resilience plans and the territorial just transition plans. Ms Emmanuela ROSSINI, Italian

Camera dei

Deputati,

laid great emphasis on the need to finalise the legal acts for the recovery funds to allow the

national plans to be put in place in a timely fashion. Ms Satu HASSI, Finnish

Eduskunta,

who in her

intervention focused specifically on the topic of climate protection as a top EU priority, expressed

her wish that the decisions on the recovery package would be soon finalised and drew the attention

to the fact that these funds would allow for big investments to support the green goals and climate

law and to enable climate neutrality. Ms HASSI urged the EU to be ambitious on this.

The Conference on the Future of Europe (the Conference) was another topic addressed by some

speakers, including Mr LOPATKA, Ms CHARANZOVÁ and Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK, Hungarian

Országgyű lés

. Both Mr LOPATKA and Ms CHARANZOVÁ called for the Conference to start its

work as soon as possible. While Mr HÖRCSIK informed about relevant discussions currently taking

place in Hungary and Mr LOPATKA stated that the Austrian parliamentarians asked the Austrian

government to promote the involvement and role of national Parliaments in the Conference, which

must produce substantial results and ensure the adequate participation of national Parliaments

CHARANZOVÁ reminded that the three institutions have to work together towards a Joint

Declaration to define the concept, structure, scope, timing and objectives of the Conference. She

enquired about the concrete steps envisaged by the German Presidency in order to move on with the

mandate for the Conference.

Other topics that participants addressed, and as particularly stressed by Ms ROSSINI, included the

digital transition, social cohesion and the need to review internal regulatory frameworks in order to

be able to respond to global challenges; the accession processes of Albania and North Macedonia,

where Mr HÖRCSIK called for more attention to be paid to these candidate countries, and the

migration and asylum policy. Mr Joris BACKER, Dutch

Eerste Kamer,

expressed his concern about

the ability of FRONTEX to face the responsibilities they have, also in light of the latest incidents in

the Greek islands and called on the German Presidency to make concrete progress in this area. Mr

Marko POGAČNIK, Slovenian

Državni zbor,

drew attention to the High Level interparliamentary

conference on migration and asylum organised with the Parliaments of the Trio Presidency in

November 2020. He further referred to the Declaration signed by the Parliaments of the Presidency

Trio, as an important confirmation that the Parliaments shared common goals. Ms Sabine

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 1011: Referat af COSAC-formandsmøde (videokonference) 14/9-20

THILLAYE, French

Assemblée nationale,

elaborated on the topic of the rule of law and called

Member States to hold a fair dialogue on this, while warning that not respecting the rule of law inside

the EU would

affect the Union‚s international

credibility.

Finally, Lord KINNOULL, UK

House of Lords,

expressed his hope that a mutually beneficial

agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union could still reached, and reassured

colleagues that his Committee would respect international law and work hard to mend any damaged

relations.

In his replies, Mr MAAS emphasised that the German Presidency was working intensively on a Joint

Declaration for the Conference on the Future of Europe with the intention of starting the Conference

during the German Presidency. He agreed that national Parliaments had a crucial role to play in this

respect and that the civil society had to be involved as well. Mr MAAS laid particular emphasis on

the topics of the Conference. He stated, for example, that social issues, such as the discussion on

minimum wage, would play a major role and that discussions on such topics could provide an

opportunity for the EU to restore the proximity between the EU and the people and to correct the

impression harboured by some citizens, especially created during the financial crisis, that the EU only

looks after large corporations. He also agreed that the MFF and own resources decisions are linked

in the discussions and that the German Presidency was focusing on the negotiations. With respect to

the role of the EU in the international environment and multilateralism, Mr MAAS admitted that the

reality is that there are many developments around various regions of the world, such as the

worrisome situation in Belarus and the tensions between Turkey and Greece and Cyprus. But he

assured participants that the German Presidency was working on a concrete position for the EU and

possible sanctions in the case of Belarus and towards a common EU position on Turkey, to be sought

in the forthcoming European Council of 24 September. In this respect, the Minister stated that the EU

could not accept that Turkey pushes borders unilaterally. Finally, with respect to climate protection,

he stressed that although a lot of businesses had been hit by the pandemic, there was also an

opportunity for restructuring and for promoting new tools and emphasised that he looked forward to

relevant proposals coming from the European Commission. He thanked everyone for the support

shown to the German Presidency and concluded that it was important to have ambitious goals even

while recovering from the crisis.

Mr WOLF concluded the debate by thanking Mr MAAS and

promised to pass on to the Minister the

comments and questions that were made when the Minister was no longer present.

5. Dealing with the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and lessons learned

Keynote speaker: Mr Frans TIMMERMANS, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal,

European Commission

Mr Gunther KRICHBAUM, Chair of the EU Affairs Committee, German

Bundestag,

gave the floor

to Mr Frans TIMMERMANS, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal, European

Commission.

Mr Frans TIMMERMANS began his intervention by underlying the crucial role of parliaments at this

stage in the recovery phase, both with regard to the translation of the decisions by the European

Council into concrete measures, requiring ratification in national Parliaments, and the establishment

of national programmes as quickly as possible and by 15 October, to enable the launch of the plans

as soon as possible.

He noted that even before the pandemic, the European Commission was aware that the future would

be based on a different growth strategy and therefore the European Green Deal was developed. A

combination of challenges, such as the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis, the industrial

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 1011: Referat af COSAC-formandsmøde (videokonference) 14/9-20

revolution and quickly changing international relations, meant that there was a need to restructure

how society and economies were organised.

Mr TIMMERMANS stated that before the pandemic there was still a choice as regards the

implementation of the green recovery and taking decisions regarding restructuring and investment,

but the pandemic had changed that completely. The pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to

mobilise finances to invest in recovery towards the economy of the future

and parliaments‚ role was

critical in this regard.

He continued by arguing that repeating the mistakes of the previous crisis, with money channelled to

sectors of the economy that were struggling but had no future, would do a huge disservice to the

society and especially to future generations by loading extra debt on their shoulders, while at the same

time not delivering on a resilient and future-proof economy and society. Therefore, the Green Deal

was the growth strategy, while the recovery would have to be based on the necessity to ascertain that

the investments made actually delivered a resilient and future-proof economy with new and better

jobs and, at the same time, ensured that no one was left behind.

Mr TIMMERMANS noted that because of a combination of challenges which included the pandemic,

the climate crisis, the biodiversity crisis, the industrial revolution and geopolitical changes, our

societies would change regardless of whether action was taken or not. The choice was therefore

between being masters of such a transition or having the transition imposed. He stressed the

importance of reinventing and redistributing within societies in order to create a just and fair society

where nobody was left behind, underscoring the necessity to act immediately, as there would not be

another opportunity in the near future to mobilise this amount of funds for restructuring and recovery,

and underlined the absolute need for commitment and support from the national Parliaments. On the

other hand, he reassured participants that the European Commission was open to a dialogue with the

national Parliaments and the national governments.

Mr TIMMERMANS concluded by expressing his firm belief that if Europe took the lead and showed

that was able to bring about climate neutrality by 2050, other parts of the world would follow, since

the consequences of the climate crisis were being felt everywhere and everybody would need to adapt.

He emphasised that what is at stake is whether the EU could remain in the lead or whether it would

be led by others without being able to shape its own future.

In the following debate, 11 speakers took the floor, with a vast majority of them welcoming the

measures the European Union had taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ms Dita CHARANZOVÁ, Vice-President of the European Parliament, began by acknowledging that

the European Commission was confronted at the beginning of its term with one of the most dramatic

crises in the history of the European Union, which had made it clear that cooperation and solidarity

was the only way towards a stronger Union and a successful recovery. She stressed that the COVID-

19 crisis had made the President von der LEYEN‚s Commission priorities for green and digital

transformation even more important and underlined the need to support these priorities with adequate

financing. The crisis had showed that fast transformation was possible, as experienced in the realm

of digitalisation, with schools switching to e-learning, shops shifting to online sale etc. Ms

CHARANZOVÁ concluded by underlying the role of the Conference on the Future of Europe in the

post COVID-19 crisis lessons learning process, emphasising the need for involvement of citizens and

a bottom-up approach. She called for in-depth reflection on how to become more effective and

democratic as a Union.

Mr Bojan KEKEC, Slovenian

Državni svet

, welcomed the German Presidency priorities and noted

that the German Presidency was taking place at a very important time for further development of the

European Union. He noted that Slovenia would face these challenges during its Presidency in the

second half of 2021. Speaking of the COVID-19 pandemic, he underlined the need to learn from this

crisis and prepare better for the future, while pointing out the current shortcomings, namely the

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 1011: Referat af COSAC-formandsmøde (videokonference) 14/9-20

inability to quickly respond to key challenges and crises as well as the lack of relevant strategic

assessment and forecast.

Ms Felicia GAUDIANO, Italian

Senat,

began by noting that the pandemic had revolutionised the way

life and work were conducted and had boosted the use of digital tools in everyday life. At the same

time, the pandemic caused many enterprises to go bankrupt since they could not go online, for

example in the transport sector, catering, clothing, and tourist industry. On the other hand, sectors

which were able to use new technologies and go online had seen increases in their revenues.

Therefore, the balance between the need to ensure maximum safety of people through smart working

and the need to ensure employment in the strategic sectors of EU Member States had to be achieved,

and it was necessary to reflect on the economic and personal costs of this new way of work which

had direct impact on the vital sectors of European economies.

Mr Constantinos EFSTATHIOU, Cyprus

Vouli ton Antiprosopon,

stated that the pandemic had

proved that the model on which societies and economies were built during the last 20 years needed

to change, and national parliamentarians had to be involved in the process. Referring to the current

situation in Belarus and Turkey‚s aggression towards

Greece and Cyprus, Mr EFSTATHIOU

underlined that the European Union had to be rigid towards anyone who infringed European

principles.

Ms Annika QARLSSON, Swedish

Riksdagen,

considered that an open internal market and fewer

restrictions at the borders were needed for the recovery of the European economy and the creation of

a more resilient Europe, as the exchanges between the Member States was beneficial to all, adding

that Sweden strongly believed that the European Union should return to this state as soon as possible

and open internal borders.

Mr Domagoj HAJDUKOVIĆ, Croatian

Hrvatski sabor,

underlined that movement of goods, services

and people had to be preserved as much as possible, and while it was understandable that some

Member States feared the spread of COVID-19, he stressed that closure of borders should be a last

resort response to the pandemic. More coordinated strategies and responses were needed for battling

the COVID-19. Furthermore, the economies of some Member States were heavily dependent on

tourism and closing the borders would have more economic repercussions in the European Union that

could be seen from the present perspective.

Mr Richárd HÖRCSIK, Hungarian

Országgyű lés,

was of the opinion that since the outbreak of the

pandemic, the most important task had been to save lives and protect the most vulnerable. He reported

on the current situation regarding the COVID-19 in Hungary, where the school and academic year

began in September, and noted that most citizens had access to protective equipment, while

maintaining social distance remained crucial. Regarding the economic recession caused by the

pandemic, the Hungarian Government and the National Assembly had adopted rapid and effective

measures, including tax concessions and a general moratorium on loan payments to protect jobs.

Despite the harsh criticism, the Hungarian response to the pandemic was successful. Mr HÖRCSIK

stressed that, in the past six months, Hungary faced a sort of coordinated political attack, ripe with

misleading information. In conclusion, he referred to the recent border control issue, where since

September foreign nationals were not allowed to enter Hungary, with exception of transit, diplomatic

and business trips and emphasised that, as a consequence, the Hungarian measures did not block but

rather guaranteed the smooth operation of the economy.

Ms Emanuela ROSSINI, Italian

Camera dei Deputati,

referring to the lessons learned from the

pandemic, underlined the need for a more coordinated action by each Member State on the European

level, and for a joint response to the health crisis. Each Member State should seize the opportunity

and develop an effective national recovery plan. Many key sectors required a European coordinated

action, for example innovation technology, energy, transport, infrastructure, and the transition to a

sustainable production. She welcomed the idea of integrating the new own resources in the EU budget

in order to reduce pressure on national contributions and increase trust in achieving strategic reform

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 1011: Referat af COSAC-formandsmøde (videokonference) 14/9-20

targets in the long-term perspective. She concluded by welcoming the launch of the Conference on

the Future of Europe.

Mr Jean BIZET, French

Sénat,

welcomed the measures the European Union had taken in response to

COVID-19 pandemic, emphasising their importance for the survival of the European Union. He

expressed concerns for a range of EU measures taken, as a response to the economic and health crisis,

that could create potential distortions of competition, for example in the area of state aid in the fields

of energy or the environment.

Ms Rudina HAJDARI, Albanian

Kuvendi,

thanked the COSAC Members for placing the Western

Balkans in their focus and informed them about

the state of play of Albania‚s accession process,

noting that the country was still awaiting the date of the Intergovernmental Conference to kick-start

the accession negotiations. Reforms were progressing, with efforts aimed at combating trafficking

and corruption.

Ms Danuta JAZŁOWIECKA, Polish

Senat,

considered the Green Deal an ambitious programme, with

its successful implementation depending on a

good evaluation of the European Union‚s strengths and

weaknesses. She asked Mr TIMMERMANS about the problems he was facing among the Member

States with regard to the implementation of the Green Deal and for his opinion on overcoming

difficulties caused by the pandemic.

In his replies, Mr TIMMERMANS first focused on the Western Balkans, emphasising the importance

of the region, since there was no long-term stability and prosperity in Europe without the integration

of the countries of the Western Balkans into Euro-Atlantic structures. In the framework of the

recovery and the Green Deal, he suggested to the candidate countries in the region to align as closely

as possible with the European Green Deal and take the measures that lead in the same direction of

creating climate neutral by 2050 by focusing on the energy union, modernising energy generation,

and limiting the use of coal, as these measures would help to create a positive dynamic for the

integration of those countries into the European Union. The more the Western Balkans countries

stayed behind, the more difficult it would be for them to integrate in the European Union. On the

other hand, by taking the right measures, the Western Balkans countries could also help the European

Union to achieve its goals.

Referring to the questions made by the representatives of the Polish

Senat

and the French

Sénat,

TIMMERMANS underlined the need for creating a level playing field across the European Union,

because not every Member State was in the same position, with some Member States having larger

funds in terms of what they could mobilise for the recovery. Unequal recovery between the Member

States posed a challenge to the internal market. Therefore, the Conclusions of the European Council

bore a historic importance because, by clearly referring to pan-European solidarity, they provide the

possibility to create the right level playing field, thus ensuring equal recovery across the European

Union, with both the economy and society on track with regard to green and digital recovery.

Speaking of other challenges, he pointed out that the position between the Member States in terms of

the energy mix was varied. Some Member States faced much bigger challenges in stopping the

production and use of coal and moving towards more sustainable energy generation. Recalling the

experience in the Netherlands during its transition from coal-dependent energy fifty years ago, he

acknowledged that this transition was not entirely successful. Those lessons learned now need to be

applied in the regions which planned to phase out coal and seek out other opportunities. This was

why the Just Transition Fund was of huge importance for the successful transition in these Member

States.

Taking Poland as an example, Mr TIMMERMANS underlined that Silesia presented a big challenge

but also a big opportunity. The take-up of sustainable energy in Poland was remarkable, both in terms

of offshore wind possibilities in the Baltic Sea, but also solar energy. Poland had a very intense

engineer education system with world-class engineers that could play a huge role in the economy of

EUU, Alm.del - 2019-20 - Bilag 1011: Referat af COSAC-formandsmøde (videokonference) 14/9-20

the future. Because of the demographic development, there was a huge need of skilled labour force

across the European Union.

Mr TIMMERMANS concluded that the transition was possible and it could be achieved if no one

was left behind and opportunities for everyone were created. The first step in the process would have

to be national Parliaments ratifying the decisions of the European Council on the Next Generation

EU and the Multiannual Financial Framework. He underlined that there was no time to waste, as the

citizens expected the EU to recover from the pandemic.

Mr KRICHBAUM concluded the session by agreeing with Mr TIMMERMANS that no one should

be left behind, stressing that the citizens expected the EU to bring the solutions which were needed.

Mr WOLF stressed the importance of working together and showing solidarity to find concrete and

effective solutions to the current challenges, especially in the midst of an unimaginable crisis. He

further underlined the need for there to be a European capability to act and solve problems because

this was necessary for people to accept and support Europe and believe in a European future. Mr

WOLF concluded by thanking all participants and underlining the importance of spontaneous

exchange of ideas on various topics, and looked forward to future discussions.

Mr KRICHBAUM reiterated that physical meetings could not be replaced by virtual exchanges, and

assured colleagues that the Presidency would strive to organize a live COSAC meeting. He urged the

participants to inform the Presidency of their intention to attend the meeting in person if such a

meeting were to take place. Mr KRICHBAUM concluded by thanking everyone for their participation

and apologizing for the technical issues, remarking that the latter pointed out that the digital transition

was indeed a challenge for Europe.