On Monday and Tuesday, the Danish Minister for Culture, Mr Uffe Elbæk, convened 13 European notables in Copenhagen to investigate the way in which culture and art can play a decisive role for Europe in the midst of the financial crisis. All agree that the challenges of the current crisis are global and that Europe has a responsibility to lead the way.
Today, the Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs is hosting a conference in Brussels on EU as an actor in global crisis management
The UN Commission on the Status of Women meets every year to highlight gender equality globally. Representing all EU-member states Minister for Gender Equality Manu Sareen this week helps open this year’s meeting. Our work to ensure the rights of women in the entire world is more important than ever, the Minister says.
The conference on animal welfare to be hosted by the Commission and the Danish Presidency will focus on enforcement of the rules, new research and the importance of consumer behaviour. The conference will take place in Brussels 29 February – 1 March.
Tomorrow, Minister for European Affairs, Nicolai Wammen, will be chairing the General Affairs Council’s discussions on granting candidate status to Serbia. The Council’s decision must be confirmed by the European Council later this week.
Serbia and Kosovo have reached an agreement on two important issues that have so far created problems in their relations.
Next week's European High Level Conference in Copenhagen will focus on the Digital Single Market as a driver for economic growth and jobs across Europe. Decision makers from all corners of the continent will meet to define the barriers to be overcome - and setting out the course to ensure that this happens.
"We have established very important relations to the African countries", says the Danish Minister for Environment Ida Auken. Representing the EU as the head of the delegation of the rotating EU Presidency country, she participated in the Global Ministerial Environment Forum in Nairobi, Kenya this week, together with EU Commissioner for the Environment, Janez Potočnik.
The EU Member States back Denmark’s wish to secure a central placement for social sciences and humanities in the hunt for solutions to great societal challenges through the world’s largest publicly-financed research programme Horizon 2020.
The Danish Presidency continues to create results. At today’s ECOFIN meeting, minister for Economic Affairs and the Interior, Margrethe Vestager, managed to achieve political consensus on the Presidency’s compromise proposal regarding strengthened cooperation on healthy economic policy in the euro countries, the so-called “two-pack”. Additionally, the ministers of economics and finance adopted a strong joint EU mandate to bring in the suitcase when the Danish minister travels to Mexico to represent EU at the G20 meeting for ministers of finance and central bank governors 25-26 February 2012.
During a two-day visit Minister for European Affairs, Nicolai Wammen, discussed EU enlargement with the Governments of Serbia and Montenegro.
On Monday February 20 Minister for Business and Growth Ole Sohn received broad support for the completion of a number of concrete growth initiatives during the Danish Presidency.
Minister for Economic Affairs and the Interior, Margrethe Vestager, hopes that the EU finance and economy ministers this Tuesday at the ECOFIN meeting will be able to lay one of the last pieces in the economic governance reform by reaching agreement on the Commission’s two legislative proposals concerning strengthened euro cooperation (the so-called “two-pack”).
Many viewpoints were brought to the table at the EPSCO Council meeting 17 February, where the EU Ministers for Employment and Gender Equality discussed how to combat unemployment in the EU and how to increase the number of women on company boards.
Monday 20 February 2012 Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt will meet the French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris.
On 20 and 21 February, the Danish EU Presidency will hold its first Competitiveness Council meeting on strengthening the single market and the world’s largest publically funded research programme, Horizon 2020.
After months of negotiations yesterday agreement was reached in principle between the European Parliament and the Council on the European Parliament’s access to classified information held by the Council.
On 17 February in Brussels, the European ministers for employment and gender equality will discuss and exchange experiences on how the EU member states can create growth and employment as well as on how we may increase the number of women on company boards.
Today, the Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Villy Søvndal, participated in two debates of the European Parliament on Syria and the upcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council respectively, on behalf of the EU’s High Representative for foreign and security policy, Catherine Ashton.
On Tuesday 14 February, EU Energy Ministers met in Brussels to discuss the Energy Efficiency Directive, tabled to ensure that the EU will reach its goal of reducing the level of energy consumption by 20 per cent by 2020. The Energy Council's deliberations were led by the Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Building, Martin Lidegaard.