Text: Anja Karppinen, Baltic Sea Strategy Point

 

On 27 June 2023, the EU Council (General Affairs) approved the Council conclusions on Report from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions on the implementation of EU macroregional strategies.

The EU Council Conclusions provides strategic advice to the NCG on managing and developing the strategy. Based on the Council Conclusions, the Commission also gives guidance on prioritising strategic EU frameworks and policies.

 

In the conclusions, the Council:
* underlines the importance of participating countries’ continuous political commitment and ownership of the Strategies at all levels and of the Commission’s contribution as a strategic advisor with its operational support, both technical and financial;
* encourages the Commission to continue supporting Member States and non-EU countries in their efforts to participate in Strategies;
* encourages the structures offered by the Strategies in supporting Ukraine and in contributing to the reconstruction of Ukraine with no delay;
* points to the role the Strategies can play in the enlargement process;
* welcomes the possibilities provided by embedding Strategies in relevant cohesion policy programmes, which enables financing and implementation of the Strategies’ priorities through existing funds in the Strategies’ participating countries.

 

The full document is available here.