The French Presidency of the Council, a Conversation with Sandrine Gaudin
EU advisor to PM Jean Castex • Secretary General of SGAE
What’s up EU had a chat with Sandrine Gaudin, on the French Presidency of the Council — dubbed PFUE in French.
Ms Gaudin is currently the Secretary-General of the General Secretariat for European Affairs (SGAE), an inter-departmental unit under the supervision of the Prime Minister, whose role is crucial in coordinating France’s positions at the Council at the ministerial level. Ms Gaudin also acts as Europe advisor to the Prime Minister, Jean Castex.
Ms Gaudin is a graduate of Aix-Marseille University and École Nationale d’Administration (ENA), and has previously worked at the French Treasury (Direction Générale du Trésor) and at the Permanent Representation in Brussels as a Financial Attaché between 2004 and 2006.
What is the purpose of the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, and what room for manoeuvre does it give?
The very principle of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU was introduced as early as the Treaty of Rome. Member States hold this rotating presidency every six months — the order of which is set out in a Council Decision. The role and responsibilities of a presidency are manifold.
The Member State holding the Presidency chairs all the preparatory bodies and configurations of the Council, except Foreign Affairs related meetings. Since the Council is an institution bringing together the Member States, the representatives of these Member States chair the meetings: the advisers of the Permanent Representations to the EU as regards the working groups; the Permanent Representatives and the Deputy Permanent Representatives as regards respectively COREPER 2 and COREPER 1, and the Ministers for the highest level .
Apart from this legal obligation of chairing the preparatory bodies, the Member State is tasked with leading negotiations with the other 26 delegations. As the Council is the co-legislator of the Union, responsible for adopting acts — regulations, directives and decisions —, it is up to the Member State holding the Presidency to seek political agreements referred to as the "Presidency compromises" and to suggest common positions. In addition, it maintains close relations with the other EU institutions involved in the legislative process, mainly the Commission (which has to accept the suggested compromises) and the European Parliament (the co-legislator). Those three institutions seek agreement on the texts in the so-called "trilogues". The Member State holding the Presidency represents the Council during trilogues.
The Member State also represents the EU in relations with third countries and international institutions during the six months, in close coordination with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Each presidency of the Council of the EU is an opportunity for the Member State concerned to put on the European agenda, for six months, its own priorities, and its political vision for Europe. The Member State publishes its political (or working) programme, highlighting the topics and projects it wishes to put forward — among the texts already in negotiation. However, it is not completely free to do so: it must comply with a certain number of rules.
First, the programme must be in line with the Commission's work programme and contribute to the implementation of the general political directions set out by the European Council.
The legislative agenda which is part of the political programme is determined based on Directives, Regulations or Decisions proposals, submitted by the Commission. The Member State’s leeway is therefore circumscribed by the legislative agenda of the Commission — the only institution with the right of legislative initiative. In other words, the Member State cannot propose legislative initiatives on its own, but it can pick, among the initiatives submitted by the Commission, those it wishes to include in its political programme. There are nearly 250 such initiatives.
But even in this field its freedom is not complete. The Member State must carry on the on ongoing negotiations — especially when they are in the final stages of their adoption. And given the fact that during the French Presidency, the Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council are in their mid-term, many texts are at an advanced stage of negotiations which France will therefore need to finalise.
Second, the political programme must also fit into the priorities agreed upon by the "Trio" to which the Member State belongs.
In January 2007, the Council's Rules of Procedure set out a system based on an 18-month programme adopted by the three rotating presidencies. It contains common priorities for the three presidencies, and is the result of a common coordination and preparation. France and the two other Member States that are part of the Trio, the Czech Republic and Sweden, published their programme on 10 December 2021. Many of the priorities of the French Presidency are included in this Trio programme.
The Presidency of the Council of the EU encompasses two aspects: one linked to the strict institutional function, and the other to the political dimension of the Member State's project for Europe.
What are the areas in which the French Presidency can make a difference?
The French Presidency has prepared its work programme and determined its political priorities based on the matters which are of great importance to the Union — and on which it intends to make progress during the six months.
With the motto "Recovery, Power and a Sense of Belonging", the French Presidency has set out an ambitious programme, that can be broken down into seven subcomponents.
1) Environment — With the Green Deal and the “Fit For 55” package. This pillar represents dozens of texts and holds a key role in the French Presidency’s programme. It contains numerous high stakes topics, among which the fight against deforestation, pesticides, the fight against plastic. The French Presidency especially intends to make progress on the carbon border adjustment mechanism.
2) Security — When migration flows can be used for destabilisation purposes, a common European response is paramount. It requires modernizing the Schengen area and reforming its framework and governance (by strengthening responsiveness in the event of a crisis) as well as asylum and migration policies (which have blocked in the Council for a long time). The justice component is also crucial with key texts such as the one on the harmonization of the criminal sanctions for environmental offenses or the one on the fight against hate crimes.
3) Economy, growth, industry, employment — The goal of the French Presidency is to move towards a stronger regulation of digital services, towards setting a framework for financing the decarbonisation of industry, but also to move forward the space policy or the innovation policy — and more broadly the industrial policy. These policies are based on the concept of strategic autonomy, which is at the heart of the work of the French Presidency.
4) Social— Many issues are already on the negotiating table in this area, such as propositions on pay transparency, platform workers, quotas for women in administrative boards, the minimum wage, the fight against violence against women, and the Europe of health (production, deployment, and donation of vaccines).
5) Values, youth and mobility — The Commission has declared 2022 the European year of the Youth, and the French Presidency takes part in this initiative, by organising the celebrations around the 35th anniversary of Erasmus, the development of European universities, negotiations on cultural and creative industries, and the definition of a European work of art.
6) Europe, a global player — Which projects itself on equal terms in the world, restores a level playing field and which adopts at the strategic level a common vision of its position in the geopolitical context, with the Strategic Compass.
7) Rule of law — It is necessary to react together to threats that weaken democracies, as is the case in Poland or Hungary. We must also find back trust in dealing with the United Kingdom, which does not respect the agreement it signed with the EU.
With its agenda, France intends to create a powerful Europe for the future, a Europe capable of responding to climate, technological, digital but also geopolitical challenges, an independent Europe which has the means, to decide on its own future, and which is not dependent on the whims of other great powers. The French Presidency intends to show that the European Union works and delivers tangible results. It is an ambitious presidency, yet it remains realistic.
What is the role of the SGAE in the conduct of the French Presidency?
The SGAE, an interministerial coordination body, is a major player in the institutional architecture of the French Presidency. It fulfilled a key role in its preparation and remains central today for the successful conduct of the Presidency.
In autumn 2019, the SGAE began the Presidency's preparations by proposing to the Prime Minister the creation of a dedicated body —the General Secretariat of the French Presidency (SGPFUE) — as well as a specific budgetary line to finance all expenditure related to the Presidency. Subsequently, the SGAE assisted the SGPFUE in identifying and labelling nearly 400 events to be organized in France during the French Presidency. It was also involved in the conception of the future French Presidency website and actively participated in its creation.
The SGAE has established and maintains the network of the French Presidency Coordinators in each of the 16 ministries which are the points of contact for all matters relating to the organisation and conduct of the French Presidency.
The SGAE played a key role in the development of the work programme and political priorities of the French Presidency by ensuring inter-ministerial coordination and preparing the work of the Interministerial Committee for Europe responsible for defining this programme and priorities, under the supervision of the Prime Minister and in close cooperation with the Presidency of the Republic.
Finally, in collaboration with ENA and IGPDE, the SGAE has developed a training programme for civil servants. Between September 2020 and the end of 2021, the SGAE organised monthly trainings called "French Presidency Awareness Days" which enabled more than 1,300 civil servants to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to successfully carry out the French Presidency.
As regards the running of the French Presidency in the first half of 2022, the SGAE plays a dual role.
On the one hand, the SGAE overlooks the proper implementation of the priorities of the French Presidency and interministerial coordination. By remaining in constant contact with the ministries, it ensures that the most important issues are identified sufficiently in advance. More specifically, the SGAE has adapted interministerial coordination to the specific context of the French Presidency both for the preparation of negotiations in the Council and the European Parliament and in its information activities towards the national Parliament or the various stakeholders (civil society, businesses, etc.).
On the other hand, the SGAE chairs the meetings of the Editorial Board responsible for reviewing and validating the contents to be published on the French Presidency website, on social networks (Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook) as well as on the dedicated YouTube channel.
Emmanuel Macron intends to make Europe an important subject of the presidential campaign. In this perspective, what influence does the French Presidency have on the daily lives of the French?
At the time when we answer this question, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, has not announced his candidacy. Therefore, the topics of the presidential campaign are not yet known. We shall therefore reply only to the second question, which relates to the influence of the PFUE on the daily lives of the French people.
The questions that France intends to focus on during its presidency will, once adopted, have a decisive impact on the daily lives of the French — be it the measures adopted as part of the Green Deal (improving the climate with the objective of carbon neutrality by 2050), in the digital and industrial fields (investments in the technologies of the future, building a true digital single market to create European champions) or in the social sector (providing workers with quality, skilled and better-paid jobs). In addition, during its presidency, France intends to adopt the Strategic Compass and define our own security doctrine, complementary to NATO, thus giving its full meaning to the Europe of Defence. Such measures will provide very concrete answers to the daily lives not only of the French themselves, but of all Union citizens.
In support of this ambitious legislative programme, the Presidency of the Council of the European Union is, for each Member State that holds it, the unique opportunity to talk about the European Union to its citizens. This is done first of all through communication and awareness-raising campaigns, but also through more frequent and in-depth debates on current European issues. In addition, there are promotional campaigns of Europe, the illuminations in blue of the main monuments in the various French cities, and the very rich cultural programme centred on Europe.
Finally, the 400 events to be organized during this semester under the French Presidency label will take place in almost all the French territories. This will allow all venues hosting the French Presidency events to show their cultural, economic, and gastronomic heritage.
The participation of citizens in the Conference on the future of Europe also makes it possible to involve them in the reflections on the future of the European project. The conference will meet in the second quarter to conclude its work.
