During the first plenary session of the Portuguese Pre-Presidency Conference, TEPSA presented a set of recommendations to the Portuguese Presidency as represented by Ambassador Ana Paula Zacarias, Secretary of State for European Affairs of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These recommendations are formulated by experts from the TEPSA network, without necessarily representing the views of TEPSA or its Member Institutes.
The Portuguese Presidency is well advised to aim at accomplishing three things:
- Finishing unfinished business including acting on the decisions taken during the German Presidency,
- Setting a mark of its own focusing on a resilient, social and green Europe,
- Successfully initiating relations with the new Biden administration restoring faith in the transatlantic relationship.
Lisbon should not forget to remind itself of the pre-COVID-19-agenda and aim for setting its own mark. Furthermore, four policy areas can be identified as privileged playing fields of the Portuguese Presidency and hence deserve more detailed recommendations:
- The New Pact on Migration and Asylum,
- Digitalisation,
- EU-Africa relations,
- EU-Mercosur Association Agreement.
You can read the Recommendations from members of the TEPSA network to the Portuguese Presidency in Portuguese here
They are also available in English here.
The Portuguese EU Pre-Presidency Conference on 26-27 November 2020 is organised in virtual format by TEPSA and its Portuguese member, Portuguese Institute of International Relations (IPRI). In the midst of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis, Portugal will assume the Presidency of the EU Council on 1 January 2021. The conference is supported by the Europe for Citizens Programme of the European Union and the InDivEU project in the framework of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Learn more about the PPC, read the programme, and register to attend here.
