On 15 November 2023, in Brussels, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andris Pelšs, attended a meeting of the General Affairs Council of the European Union (EU), which discussed, among other things, the EU’s preparations for the effective integration of new Member States.
“The European Union needs a roadmap to ensure a pragmatic and systematic process of reflection. Over the next two years, it will be necessary to discuss what adjustments will be needed to the European Union’s policies, budget, decision-making procedures and the composition of the institutions,” the State Secretary said.
At the same time, Andris Pelšs stressed that the adaptation of the European Union to this change should in no way create an obstacle to the enlargement process. The State Secretary welcomed the European Commission’s positive assessment of the reform performance of Ukraine and Moldova, which should lead to a positive decision by Member States to open accession negotiations in December.
The representatives of the Member States began preparations for the European Council of 14 and 15 December and discussed the European Commission’s work programme for the coming year. An exchange of views continued on the proposal for a regulation providing for changes to the current electoral system of the European Parliament, as well as a discussion on the current rule of law situation in Poland and Hungary. Participants were briefed on the state of play in European Union-United Kingdom relations and the ongoing work on Spain’s proposal to extend the EU’s language regime. During the meeting, the representatives of the Member States were also briefed on the latest developments in the EU’s Outermost Regions.
