COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,update

 

Library blog Tuesday, 13 October 2026

● International ministerial meetings   12/10/2026 17:34 | Meetings | Agenda highlights - 4th Accession Conference with Ukraine, 13 October 2026   The fourth meeting of the Accession Conference with Ukraine will serve to open negotiations on clusters 2 - internal market and 3 – competitiveness and inclusive growth.   View meeting page ● International ministerial meetings   12/10/2026 17:36 | Meetings | Agenda highlights - 4th Accession Conference with the Republic of Moldova, 13 October 2026   The fourth meeting of the Accession Conference with the Republic of Moldova will serve to open negotiations on clusters 2 - internal market and 3 - competitiveness and inclusive growth.   View meeting page ● Council of the EU   12/10/2026 18:54 | Meetings | Main results - Environment Council, 12 October 2026   The Council discussed the proposed review of the EU’s emissions trading system. It also approved conclusions on the EU’s main negotiating positions ahead of the United Nations climate change (COP31) and biodiversity (COP17) summits.   View meeting page ● Council of the EU   12/10/2026 18:56 | Press release | Enlargement: EU and Montenegro close accession negotiations in the areas of economic and monetary policy, statistics, and social policy and employment   Today, the EU and Montenegro provisionally closed accession negotiations on economic and monetary policy (chapter 17), statistics (chapter 18) and social policy and employment (chapter 19). “I am proud that at the second Intergovernmental Conference for Montenegro held under the Irish presidency, we provisionally closed three more negotiating chapters. With 21 negotiating chapters now provisionally closed, Montenegro is making continued progress towards the closure of all remaining chapters. Enlargement is a geopolitical necessity for the EU and remains a top priority of the Irish presidency.” — Thomas Byrne, Minister of State for European affairs and defence of Ireland, on behalf of the Irish presidency of the Council of the EU These provisional closures follow on the heels of the previous accession conference on 14 July 2026, which provisionally closed chapters 8 on competition policy and 29 on customs union. Monitoring of progress in the alignment with and implementation of the EU acquis will continue throughout the negotiations. Montenegro has opened all 33 negotiating chapters in its EU accession negotiations. With today’s closures, a total of twenty-one of these chapters have now been provisionally closed. According to the negotiating principles endorsed by the Accession Conference, agreements reached in the course of negotiations on specific chapters may not be considered as final until an overall agreement has been reached for all chapters.  The EU may, if necessary, return to these chapters at an appropriate moment. EU common position regarding chapter 17 EU common position regarding chapter 18 EU common position regarding chapter 19 28th meeting of the Accession Conference with Montenegro, 14 July 2026 Enlargement: new enlargement methodology will be applied to Montenegro and Serbia (press release, 11 May 2021) How EU enlargement works (background information)   Visit the website ● Council of the EU

12/10/2026 20:24 | Meetings | Main results - Foreign Affairs Council, 12 October 2026   The Foreign Affairs Council exchanged views on the security impacts of enlargement, and on the latest developments related to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and escalating hybrid campaign targeting the EU. They also discussed the situation in the Middle East, including the war in Iran and its effects across the region, as well as the situation in Israel and Palestine. The Council also touched upon the democratic backsliding in Georgia.   View meeting page

● General Secretariat of the Council   Think Tank reports on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine   Forecasting the next steps in Ukraine's military evolution; how to fight Putin’s war on reality; President Trump blames Kyiv for high diesel prices, who is really disrupting the market, and what  Ukraine should do; Ukraine’s Black Sea attacks take a toll on Russia’s economy; and hunger on the horizon due to the new Black Sea grain crisis are some of the topics covered in the present update.   Read full post   ● Council of the EU   13/10/2026 12:42 | Press release | Council approves conclusions on inclusive democratic participation, and societal and community resilience   At the initiative of the Irish presidency, the Council today approved conclusions focused on strengthening democratic resilience across the EU by encouraging inclusive citizen participation in democratic life and supporting civil society engagement. The conclusions call for more inclusive and transparent decision-making, stronger public trust in democratic institutions and closer cooperation at EU level to tackle citizens’ disengagement. “The EU is a democracy and one we must work to protect. Democracy is at the core of our Union, so we must act decisively at all levels to protect it, and ensure citizens have a say in the decision making that affects their lives.” — Thomas Byrne, Minister of State for European affairs and defence of Ireland Main elements of the conclusions The Council conclusions: acknowledge the challenge of citizens’ disengagement underlining that citizens’ trust in public institutions is essential for building resilient democracies stress the importance of the European dimension of inclusive participation recognising that member states have the potential to benefit from more coordinated action at EU level to encourage political re-engagement outline the importance of a framework for inclusive democratic participation highlighting inter alia that meaningful, inclusive and transparent public consultations and citizen participation in public policymaking can enrich decision-making stress the benefit of strengthening the participation of civil society engagement in policy making, recognising that an independent, diverse and resilient civil society, alongside citizen-led initiatives, contributes to democratic checks and balances and democratic resilience. The Council conclusions are adopted as a follow-up to the Commission’s communication on a European Democracy Shield of November 2025. The text focuses on the so-called ‘third pillar’ of this communication titled ‘Boosting societal resilience and citizens’ engagement’. In its conclusions, the Council calls upon the Commission to ensure the appropriate follow-up to the adoption of the European Democracy Shield with the work of the European Centre for Democratic Resilience complementing and not duplicating the work of the network of national authorities on citizens’ participation. Background On 12 November 2025, the Commission presented a communication on a European Democracy Shield structured around three pillars: reinforcing situational awareness and support response capacity to safeguard the integrity of the information space strengthening democratic institutions, free and fair elections and free and independent media, and boosting societal resilience and citizens’ engagement. In June 2026, following discussions at the Council’s preparatory bodies, the Cyprus presidency presented a report on strengthening Europe’s democratic resilience and implementing a European Democracy Shield. Council conclusions on inclusive democratic participation, and societal and community resilience European Democracy Shield: Empowering strong and resilient democracies, joint communication, 12 November 2025 Electoral rights and democratic participation (background information)   Visit the website ● International ministerial meetings   12/10/2026 20:30 | Meetings | Main results - 29th Accession Conference with Montenegro, 12 October 2026   The twenty-ninth meeting of the Accession Conference with Montenegro was held in Luxembourg on 12 October 2026.   View meeting page