Council of the European Union

Agenda Item 1: European Democracy Shield

Agenda Item 2: Minimum Rules to Prevent and Counter the Facilitation of Unauthorized Entry, Transit, and Stay in the Union

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Under-Secretary-General: Bora Bulan

Academic Assistants: Tuba Eda Anaç - Nilay Kıbrıs

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 Introduction to the Council of the European Union

​​The Council of the European Union, often referred to as the Council, was first established in 1958 as the Council of European Economic Community. The Council serves as the voice of the Member States, where government ministers from each state meet to discuss, amend and adopt laws, and coordinate policies.  Alongside the European Parliament, the European Council is the main decision making body of the Union. A law cannot pass unless both the Council and the Parliament reach a consensus. To pass a proposal, the “Double Majority” rule must be met, which means that at least 55% percent of Member States must vote in favor, and at least 65% of the total European Union population must be represented by those States. 

 

The Agenda Items​

1. Our first agenda item will be the European Democracy Shield, which is a strategic initiative proposed by the European Commission. This framework aims to protect the integrity of European democracy by focusing on combatting foreign interference on elections and the spread of misinformation. Therefore its main goal is to establish high standards of transparency and ensure that citizens have access to accurate information during elections. However, while the concept of protecting democracy is acceptable to most member states, the approach of monitoring democratic transparency from a centralised base is a point that some member states did not approve of. Therefore, the Council will debate on ways to implement the Shield practically.
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2. For our second agenda item, the Council will cone together to design a proposal to modernise and strengthen the current legislative framework against the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and stay in the Union, which is a critical challenge for the Union. The current framework dates back to 2002, and is seen as outdated as the criminal networks use modern tactics to smuggle migrants now. Additionally, the framework is criticised for being inadequate in achieving harmonisation among Member States because it leaves the decision on which actions will be punished to the discretion of Member States. The ministers are expected to discuss and find ways to modernise the current framework.