Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The Polish presidency explains its priorities at the General Affairs Council meeting on January 28, 2025. The Ministers discussed security, enlargement and the rule of law.
Ministers responsible for European Affairs met in Brussels to attend a presentation on the priorities of the Polish EU Council Presidency. Adam Szlapka, Minister for European Affairs of Poland, explained that the number one priority is security. This covers a vast range of areas, both internal and external, from economy and energy to information, food and health.
The talking points of the meeting also included a discussion on Hungary, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia based on the 2024 Rule of Law report of the European Commission. Concerns were raised particularly on Hungary’s respect of the rule of law.
Security and democracy shield
“Security, Europe!” is the motto of the Polish presidency. During today’s meeting, the focus of the Council has been on information security and democracy. Strong civil society and free media have also been emphasized as fundamental.
“Since our top priority is security, we are also thinking about the security of democracy. Believe me: democracy, freedom, rule of law and freedom of speech are not taken for granted. We need to fight for freedom, for democracy, and we need to give constant attention and commitment to these values, which is why we are so committed to work together with the Commission on the democracy shield,”
Said Polish Minister Szlapka.
EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection Michael McGrath shared this commitment and added that one of the priorities of the Commission during this mandate is also to boost European competitiveness on the economic front, which will make the Union stronger and more united.
At work to “speed up” enlargement
Proceeding with the enlargement is one of the priorities of this presidency. As of today, Montenegro and Albania are next in line to join the EU, but Ukraine and Moldova in particular are also moving forward.
Minister for European Affairs of Poland Adam Szlapka said that Moldova’s progress is “visible” and that the Polish presidency is ready to “speed up” the process, but at the same time enlargement involves the EU Commission and member states as well.
Rule of law in member states
Every year since 2020, the European Commission publishes the Rule of Law Report, which examines the rule of law development in all member states. It focuses on, among other areas, transparent and democratic law-making processes, fight against corruption, access to justice, media freedom and human rights.
At today’s General Affairs Council meeting, Ministers discussed the progress of Hungary, Romania, Portugal and Slovenia. Overall, the 2024 report highlighted that while Portugal and Slovenia have progressed in the recommended direction, Hungary and Romania have shown no or too little improvement on transparency and independence of some particular processes and issues.
Many concerns on Hungary’s rule of law, in particular, were raised by the ministers during the meeting, said Szlapka, mostly on media freedom and the judiciary system. “Member states need to follow the rules,” he stated.
EU Commissioner McGrath also emphasized that the Commission is available to engage with Hungary and to provide support to strengthen the rule of law in the country. Hungary is expected and solicited to show commitment to move in this direction.
