Ministre délégué Brnjac exchanged views with the Committee on Constitutional Affairs of the EP on outcomes of EU2020HR

Source: Croatian presidency of the EU (Croatian presidency) i, published on Monday, June 8 2020.

State Secretary Nikolina Brnjac participated in an extraordinary session of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) of the European Parliament via video link from the National and University Library in Zagreb.

Ms Brnjac exchanged views with the Committee members about the achievements of Croatia's Presidency of the Council of the EU, expressing her pleasure at excellent inter-institutional cooperation with the European Parliament despite the COVID pandemic.

She also informed the Committee of the innovative solutions used to ensure uninterrupted work in the Council, including the use of video conferences for meetings at all levels.

Ms Brnjac stressed that the Presidency has organized more than 50 informal ministerial videoconferences and high-level teleconferences, and secured a timely agreement on a number of important acts in the Council.

In this context, she underlined the timely agreement of the Council and the Parliament on two legislative packages designed to mitigate the negative impact of the COVID 19 pandemic at EU level (Coronavirus Response Initiative and Coronavirus Response Initiative Plus).

In addition to urgently adapting to the new, unconventional working conditions, the Presidency is particularly proud of its legacy with regards to enlargement policy. Not only did the Council decide on the opening of pre-accession negotiations with Albania and Northern Macedonia, but the Zagreb Declaration of 6 May confirmed the European perspective and sent a message of solidarity to WB 6.

Ms Brnjac also discussed with MEPs the institutional issues currently on the agenda. Regarding the Conference on the Future of Europe, she pointed out that it represents a framework for the future vision of Europe that the EU will share with its citizens, noting that the Presidency remains committed to reaching a consensus in the Council.

State Secretary Brnjac also announced the re-launch of the interinstitutional negotiations on Transparency Register on June 16th. She underlined that the Presidency already voluntarily implements the rules of the existing Register.