On 1 July 2018, Austria took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the third time after 1998 and 2006. The motto of the Presidency is "A Europe that protects". The following is an interview content with H.E. Austria Amb. Michael Schwarzinger regarding Austria’s EU Council Presidency during the latter half of 2018. –Ed.

What is the significance of the EU Council Presidency during the latter half of 2018?

After 1998 and 2006, Austria will chair in 2018 the EU Council for the third time in its history. In the Council’s chair, Austrian representatives will have the task of finalizing up to 190 different bills on the EU’s table into EU law. However, with respect to most dossiers this will only be achieved if the Council and the European Parliament agree upon. So a substantial part of the Council chair’s work means actively contributing to this consensus.

As the next elections to the European Parliament will take place in May 2019, Austria’s Presidency will cover the last full active semester prior to these elections.

Regarding the further strengthening of relations between Europe and Asia, an important event will be the 12th Asia-Europe (ASEM) Summit on 18-19 October 2018 in Brussels, Belgium. On top of the usual bustling EU - routine in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg, Austria will organize at home around 300 events, including 13 informal ministerial meetings and one informal EU – Summit.

External developments and unexpected moments of crisis often cannot really be foreseen and respective policy in response set out ahead. The top EU-representatives and the Council Presidency must therefore always stay vigilant and must remain ready to react properly and in a flexible manner.

Please touch upon the chief agendas of Austria’s Council Presidency.

Austria views its role during the forthcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union as that of a neutral broker. Given its geographic location in the heart of the EU, its obligation of neutrality and in line with its traditional role as bridge builder, Austria will endeavour to contribute to the unity within the EU during its Council Presidency. The motto of the Austrian Presidency is ‘A Europe that protects’. To that effect, the Austrian Presidency will prioritise the protective role of the European Union, in particular concerning three priority areas: security and migration, securing prosperity and competitiveness through digitalization, stability in the neighbourhood – the EU perspective of the Western Balkans/South Eastern Europe.

What is the future of the Korea-EU FTA.

From the European perspective, this agreement is by far the most ambitious FTA that the EU ever implemented, and it is the first FTA that the EU concluded with an Asian country. The EU-Korea FTA covers not only elimination of tariffs on nearly all trade in goods, but also a reduction of non-tariff barriers to trade in goods, in services and investment (market access) and provisions on competition, government procurement, intellectual property rights, transparency in regulation, sustainable development, etc. The EU and Korea have applied the FTA since July 2011 (provisionally) and since December 2015 (formally) respectively. Overall, access to the Korean market for EU goods and access to the EU market for Korean goods has improved, although deficiencies still remain and new non-tariff barriers have been introduced, which counteract the benefits associated with tariff reduction. Not all companies are content with costs of customs procedures and time required for customs clearance.

How is Austrian Government’s stance regarding the recent Inter-Korean reconciliation.

On 25 May, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon paid an official visit to Austria, meeting Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen and Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. Chancellor Kurz highlighted at that occasion that Austria hopes for a peaceful resolution and a peaceful living together on the Korean peninsula. The Austrian Government as well as the whole European Union will remain supportive for the efforts of the Korean Government for denuclearization and a peaceful solution.