Austria’s presidency of European Union Council in spotlight at EU Affairs Committee

His Excellency Helmut Freudenschuss is scheduled to make his opening remarks at 3 p.m. in Committee Room 1.

Austria attained the rotating presidency on July 1 and will chair most of the Council’s meetings over the coming six months, including an EU summit in Salzburg on Sept. 20. The Austrian government has identified its top three policy priorities as:

• Securing the EU’s external borders against undocumented migration;
• Maintaining Europe’s competitiveness through digitization; and
• Promoting stability among Austria’s neighbours, with particular focus on potential EU accession for Western Balkan countries.

“Ireland and Austria have much in common as militarily neutral members of the European Union. The Committee looks forward to exploring with Ambassador Freudenschuss how the Austrian presidency can advance shared goals,” said Committee Chairman Michael Healy-Rae TD.

“Austria is planning to host more than 300 presidency events between now and December. Its presidency coincides with an exceptionally busy and challenging time in the life of the EU, with European Parliament elections and Brexit looming in the first half of 2019,” Deputy Healy-Rae said.

The meeting can be viewed live here.

It also can be viewed live on Android and Apple devices using the Houses of the Oireachtas app.