Council presidency: Poland's turn

11/12/2024 – The rotation of the presidency of the Council of the EU: what to expect of the Polish agenda? The rotating presidency of the Council of the EU will change upcoming January from Hungary to Poland. For the first half of 2025, Poland will be in charge of setting and steering the policy agenda for the Council.

The Council plays an essential role in the ordinary legislative procedure of the EU, with the power to either advance or deadlock policy proposals before they are converted into European law. Poland will not only determine the priorities for the next six months, but also represent the Council towards the European Parliament and European Commission. Therefore, it is of importance for the presidency to balance their own interests and the broader consensus of the other EU institutions to achieve desired outcomes.

Setting the Agenda

In the latest months, Polish representatives have made rounds across institutions and policy events to delineate the main focus areas of its Presidency. At an European Economic and Social Committee meeting on the Polish Presidency, the Polish Undersecretary of State Sobkowiak-Czarnecka emphasized that Poland’s priorities will be on security issues in the broadest sense.  This attitude can be explained by theupcoming Trump presidency, the second Von der Leyen Commission’s focus on competitiveness and increasing its cybersecurity and climate resilience. Poland’s presidency agenda seems to be an interesting change of course in comparison to the Hungarian predecessor which seemed to be less concerned with providing a certain level of stability and poise.

What’s in it for Tech and digital policies?

Poland’s presidency runs in parallel to Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty Henna Virkkunen’s first months as Commissioner. In that manner, it is not surprising the relevance given to security, resilience and competitiveness in the Presidency’s Digital Plan. The main tech priorities will be cyber security, AI and other digital technologies, and consistency and implementation of digital law and internet governance. The Telecoms sector, cybersecurity & internet infrastructure companies, SMEs and start-ups on emergent technologies must remain particularly vigilant as Poland’s aims to conduct an orientation debate on the announced Digital Networks Act, adopt a progress report of the EU Cyber Security Act in Q2 of 2025 and a Council recommendation on coordinated response to large-scale cyber incidents and crises.

Economic Security Strategy

Furthermore, the notion of tech sovereignty and economic security, echoed by the Draghi report, will play a role in the upcoming Polish Presidency. A re-assessment of a foreign investment approach is of the essence in order to shield the EU from geopolitical influences and safekeep the economy and important industries of the EU. While the Commission’s position on this specific subject is not clear yet, Von der Leyen does seem to adhere to a broader economic security strategy which could include the protection of valuable resources like the semiconductor industry and AI technologies. 

Forward look

All in all, industry stakeholders should not expect too many policy changes nor legislative breakthroughs within the first six months of 2025. The Polish Presidency is simultaneous in time with a new Commission starting that will need time to find its pace and make legislative proposals. This will take off only after background studies and stakeholder consultations have been conducted. Lastly, it is important to keep in mind that the presidency of the Council rotates based on a trio-system, where each Member State takes over the Presidency after 6 months. After Poland, Denmark and Cyprus will follow, which will determine whether Poland’s agenda will be continued.