Priority dossiers under the Estonian EU Council Presidency

Written by Lucienne Attard (The Directorate-General for the Presidency),

Estonia will hold the EU Council Presidency from July to December 2017. Its presidency will herald a new Trio Presidency, composed of Estonia, Bulgaria and Austria. This will be the first time Estonia holds the rotating presidency. Estonia is currently led by a government coalition consisting of three political parties: the Estonian Centre Party (Eesti Keskerakond), the Social Democratic Party (Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Erakond) and the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (Isamaa ja Res Publica Liit). Its Prime Minister, Jüri Ratas, in office since November 2016, belongs to the Estonian Centre Party.

Estonia is a republic divided into 15 counties. It has a unicameral parliamentary system with 101 Members of Parliament, elected by proportional representation. On 15 October 2017, local municipality elections will be held, followed by parliamentary (Riigikogu) elections in 2019.

POLITICAL PRIORITIES OF THE ESTONIAN PRESIDENCY

The Estonian Presidency promises to focus on preserving the common values of prosperity, security, peace and stability in Europe. It will seek to maintain Europe´s unity through practical decisions, while focusing on the following over-arching objectives:

• an open and innovative European economy,
• a safe and secure Europe,
• a digital Europe and the free movement of data,
• an inclusive and sustainable Europe.

This note looks at the Estonian Presidency priorities in Part A, with those dossiers which figure in the Joint Declaration agreed by the three institutions as priorities for 2017 marked with an asterisk (*). Part B refers to other dossiers in the 2017 Joint Declaration.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Priority dossiers under the Estonian EU Council Presidency‘ in PDF.

The Directorate-General for the Presidency (DG Presidency) plays a key role throughout each parliamentary procedure, from its launch until its conclusion through the adoption of an EP resolution or legislative act, in particular in ensuring the smooth running of the plenary sessions. The staff of the DG play a key coordination role across the different services of the Parliament, and support Members in a wide range of activities. The Interinstitutional Relations Unit within DG Presidency, amongst other tasks, prepares a broad range documents concerned with strategic programming, such as on activities of the Commission and the Council.