NEW: Trio Presidency Programme FR-CZ-SE

The Trio Presidency Programme FR-CZ-SE is an 18-month programme of the Council, prepared by the French, Czech and Swedish Presidencies.

The three Presidencies - France, the Czech Republic and Sweden - will strive to find common solutions to challenges and tasks ahead. The crisis provoked by the COVID-19 pandemic constitutes an unprecedented challenge. The trio will do everything necessary to enable the Union to overcome the economic and social shock. This will be achieved by implementing the Recovery Plan, notably through investing in the green and digital transitions, revitalising the Single Market, strengthening the EU ́s resilience, competitiveness as well as convergence, and ensuring economic
policy coordination in line with the pace and strength of the recovery to strengthen the European Union, including the Economic and Monetary Union. In that endeavour, the trio is also determined to protect the rights of Union’s citizens and uphold Union's values.

The priorities set out in the Strategic Agenda for 2019-2024 remain fully relevant. At the same time, the pandemic and its consequences have reinforced and accelerated some of the challenges to which the EU must respond. The trio will therefore endeavour to address all of them.
Among the challenges that have emerged, health deserves particular attention. The current pandemic has underlined the need for a strong European Health Union and improved coordination at EU level in this area: threats to Member States’ health systems can have significant cross-border implications.
The trio also considers it important to give a new impulse to relations with strategic partners, including our transatlantic partners and emerging powers. These relations are a key component of a robust foreign policy.

The trio will implement a strategic approach in relation to the Western Balkans. It will pay attention to the advancement of economic integration among the countries themselves, the recovery, as well as the continued provision of security by the EU. It will continue the accession process in
accordance with the enhanced enlargement methodology by supporting deep and transformative reform in key areas such as the rule of law, democratic institutions, free media and economy. The trio will seek to reinvigorate and enhance the regular political dialogue with the region. An EU-Western Balkans summit will be held in 2022.

The three Presidencies will continue discussions on deploying the European Research Area. They will contribute to defining and implementing research and innovation policy to address existing societal and economic challenges to the benefit of the Union’s citizens. The objective is to
strengthen the research infrastructure landscape and the research effort (fundamental, applied and disruptive) in the Union.

The trio will also support research and innovation to provide law enforcement with adequate tools to efficiently combat crime, whilst ensuring the
protection of fundamental rights in full compliance with the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the EU’s data protection acquis.
It will also strengthen e-Justice and support the development of digital information exchanges between judicial authorities

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