France holds the pen: what the Council presidency programme promises by June

France holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union from 1 January to 30 June 2022[1]. The presidency coincides with a presidential election whose two rounds the Government fixed for 10 and 24 April 2022[2]. The President of the Republic presented the programme at a press conference on 9 December 2021 under three words: "la relance, la puissance et l'appartenance"[3]. The published programme translates them as recovery, strength and a sense of belonging, and it groups the priorities under a more sovereign Europe, a new European model for growth and a humane Europe[1]. This Commentary asks what the programme commits France to deliver, and what it means for the generation that will live with the results.

Three legislative files that can be closed

The presidency inherits three files that the Council has already positioned.

The first file is the carbon border adjustment mechanism. The Commission proposed the Regulation on 14 July 2021 as part of the package that aims to cut net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030 against 1990[4][5]. The proposal covers iron and steel, cement, fertilisers, aluminium and electricity, and it provides for a transitional period from 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2025[4]. The programme names the mechanism as the central tool of the presidency's environmental agenda[1]. A French official told the specialised press in December that France wants an "early deal" among Member States during its term[6]. The first full year of charges will fall in 2026, when the oldest Europeans born after Maastricht will be in their mid-thirties.

The second file is the directive on adequate minimum wages. The Commission published the proposal on 28 October 2020[7]. The European Parliament adopted its negotiating mandate on 25 November 2021 by 443 votes to 192, with 58 abstentions[7]. The Council reached a general approach on 6 December 2021[8]. The two institutions can therefore open negotiations in the first weeks of the presidency, and the programme says that the presidency will start them[1]. The President of the Republic named the directive on 9 December as a central priority[3]. Young workers hold a disproportionate share of jobs paid at or near the minimum wage, so the outcome of this negotiation will be felt first by people under thirty.

The third file is the digital package. The Council agreed its general approach on both the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act on 25 November 2021[9]. The programme describes the Digital Services Act as "a bold, effective and proportionate legal framework" and the Digital Markets Act as "a specific ex-ante regulation instrument for these gatekeepers"[1]. The Parliament adopted its amendments on the Digital Markets Act in plenary on 15 December 2021, and trilogue negotiations are planned to start in January 2022[12]. The Parliament has not yet voted on the Digital Services Act. The President of the Republic named both texts on 9 December as files to be completed under the presidency[3].

Sovereignty, borders and the limits of six months

The programme states that "strengthening the EU's strategic autonomy will be central" and that "Europe must assert its sovereignty"[1]. Two instruments carry that ambition. The first is the Strategic Compass. The High Representative presented the draft to ministers on 15 November 2021, and the draft proposes a rapid deployment capacity built on a "modular force of up to 5 000 troops" by 2025[10]. The programme sets the aim of having "the European Strategic Compass endorsed by the European Council"[1], and the European Council is due to meet on 24 and 25 March 2022 for that purpose[1][3]. The second instrument is the reform of the Schengen area. The Commission presented a revised Schengen Borders Code and a proposal on the instrumentalisation of migrants on 14 December 2021[11]. The President of the Republic said on 9 December that the presidency would seek to "créer un pilotage politique de la maîtrise des frontières"[3]. The programme asks for "efficient protection mechanisms for the external borders of the EU"[1].

Three limits apply to all of these ambitions. The first limit is the calendar. The President of the Republic addresses the European Parliament in Strasbourg on 19 January, the summit with the African Union is set for 17 and 18 February, the informal meeting of Heads of State or Government takes place in France on 10 and 11 March, and the Conference on the Future of Europe delivers its conclusions in May[1][3]. The French presidential election falls on 10 and 24 April, in the middle of that sequence[2]. Every file that is not agreed by the end of March will compete with a national campaign for the attention of the French Government.

The second limit is the law. The presidency chairs the Council and does not decide for it. A general approach binds the Council only as a negotiating position, and a provisional agreement with the Parliament must still be confirmed by both institutions.

The third limit is the trio. The programme states that its priorities are part of the trio programme "co-developed with the upcoming Czech and Swedish presidencies"[1]. Whatever France leaves open on 30 June passes to Prague on 1 July.

We recommend that the presidency open negotiations with the European Parliament on the minimum wages directive in January, and that it aim at a provisional agreement before the April election, because both institutions already hold a mandate.

We recommend that the Council adopt a general approach on the carbon border adjustment mechanism before the end of March, so that the transitional period of 2023 to 2025 can begin on the date the Commission proposed.

We recommend that the presidency treat the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act as a single political package in trilogue, since the Council positioned both on the same day and the Parliament has already positioned the first of them.

We recommend that the European Council, when it endorses the Strategic Compass in March, attach a dated plan for the rapid deployment capacity, so that the force of up to 5,000 troops has a budget line and a first exercise before 2025.