Council of the European Union
Agenda Items
1) Proposal for a regulation on nature restoration
2) Regulation establishing the European defence industry Reinforcement through common Procurement Act
Under-Secretary-General: Erva Gökbaş
Academic Assistant: Yağız Yazgan and Bora Oğuz
Introduction to the Council of the European Union
The Council of the European Union, acting as the voice of the EU member governments, is one of the landmark institutions of the European project. The Council of the European Union, whose main functions are negotiating and adopting EU laws, coordinating EU countries' policies, developing the EU's foreign & security policy, and concluding agreements between the EU and other countries, assumes the role of decision-making mechanism together with the European Parliament. In conjunction with the European Parliament, it negotiates and adopts legislative acts through the ordinary legislative procedure, which is also known as “co-decision”. During the co-decision process, the Council makes decisions and legislative changes by working on the regulations and proposals submitted by the European Commission.
Introduction to the Agenda Items
Two agenda items of major importance will busy the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in this year’s EUROsimA: Nature restoration and the reinforcement of the European defence industry.
1) The word “restore” is defined as the act of returning something back to its former condition. However, it is also the act of returning it back to its original owners. Therefore, the restoration of nature is for the local biodiversity and the communities that depend on it. As this network grows, this collective action benefits everyone, according to ecologist Thomas Crowther. At the present time, the ecosystems and the lives that are created around them still form the key aspect of life on this planet. But humanity is face to face with one of the greatest threats and thus, challenges of all times, which is global warming. In tandem with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the Parliament and the Council will tackle “nature restoration” in the 19th annual session of EUROsimA.
2) Recent security problems in the world, especially the Russia-Ukraine war, have changed the perspective of the European Union, which is one of the institutions that assumes a decisive role in the international order, especially in the defence industry. When it comes to a security risk, for the European Union to achieve a common understanding, member states in the industrial sector must act in cooperation within the legal framework. Conflicts between actors require a new perspective, joint action, and policy and legislation that will ultimately bring the European Union to a leading position in the field of defense and security. As Machiavelli said, "The one who adapts his policy to the times prospers, and likewise that the one whose policy clashes with the demands of the times does not."