During the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU, there is one dossier on general and institutional matters which will dominate the work of the Council. Below you can read more about this issue and the EU's policy in this area.
Reform of the European Court of Justice
On 28 March 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) proposed amending the statute of the ECJ specifically to make the ECJ more effective in order to meet the continued increase in the caseload. The proposals include increasing the number of judges of the Court by 12 and the introduction of the post of vice president of the Court. The proposal was presented to the GAC on 18 July 2011, where there was general consensus that the increasing processing time constitutes a serious problem and that it is important to find a solution.
In GAC the Ministers of either Foreign Affairs or European Affairs meet to discuss how the EU should spend its money.
Since the end of the 1980s, the EU’s annual budgets have been organised within the framework of multiannual budget agreements. As the current framework is valid until 2013, negotiations on a new budgetary framework for the EU have already begun.
Consequently, the so-called multiannual financial framework will be one of the most debated topics during the Danish EU Presidency.
The new budget, which is to be negotiated for the period 2014-2020, must be adopted by the Council unanimously after the European Parliament has given its approval.
Horizontal workflows
In addition to negotiating the EU budget, the General Affairs Council also deals with horizontal issues, including the EU enlargement and the preparation and follow-up on meetings of the European Council, where the EU’s Heads of State or Government meet on a regular basis.
All major decisions about the EU are taken by the European Council, which sets the general political course for the EU. The meetings take place in Brussels, and Denmark is represented by the Prime Minister.
Last but not least, GAC covers a range of issues involving the Council’s cooperation with other EU institutions such as the relationship with the European Parliament and the Commission.
Generally speaking, GAC handles issues that affect the way the EU operates and it supports the political work of the other Council configurations.
GAC meets once a month except for August and it is thus one of the Council configurations that meet most frequently.
Here you can find more information about institutional affairs in the EU