News

18/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Council will begin at 5.00pm on Thursday 19 June with a first work session during which EU heads of state and government, with ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet in attendance, will officially approve Slovakia's accession to the euro area on 1 January 2009... 

After the traditional meeting with the president of the European Parliament, the leaders will, in the early evening, begin their debate on how the EU should react to soaring food and oil prices. “We will discuss the policy implications … and decide on a number of short, medium and long term measures,” writes current European Council President and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa in his letter of invitation to his counterparts. Also discussed will be the Millennium development goals.

Discussion over dinner on Thursday evening will be devoted entirely to the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty. “We will first ask our colleague Taoiseach Brian Cowen to explain the reasons for the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in the referendum. Then we will together examine the ways on how to move forward,” writes Jansa in his letter. At the same time, foreign ministers will review the European perspective of the countries of the Western Balkans.

From 10.00am on Friday 20 June, leaders will consider the draft conclusions prepared by the Slovenian Presidency. They will debate current justice, liberty and security initiatives, the state of play in Council on the energy-climate change package, and liberalisation of energy markets in the EU. They will then speak about the Western Balkans and improving the European neighbourhood policy (ENP). They will take stock of progress towards the official launch of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in Paris on 13 July, and will endorse recent proposals from Poland and Sweden for developing the “Eastern dimension” of the ENP.