Directorate-general European Affairs

Coordinate the position of Belgium in order to allow our country to speak with one voice on the European scene. This coordination work is prepared by the DG EUR that regularly convenes meetings with different partners, depending on whether the subject on the level of the European Union level involves a federal competence and/or a competence of the federated entities. The DG EUR holds the presidency of these coordination meetings and acts as secretariat. The objective is to determine the Belgian position, both from a general point of view and for each item on the agenda of the Council of the European Union and of the European Council meetings.

Once the Belgian position has been defined in the coordination meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs informs the Permanent representation of Belgium at the European Union, with a copy to the ministers concerned. The Permanent Representatives and Deputy Permanent Representatives Committee of all Member States of the European Union (COREPER) prepares the work of the Council of Ministers of the European Union. The Council of the European Union brings together the member state ministers who are competent for the items on the agenda in order to adopt laws and coordinate European policies. The European Council brings together the heads of state and government in order to define the main orientations and the political priorities of the European Union.

The mission of the DG EUR, as well as the division of competences to define the European policy of Belgium, have been described in the cooperation agreement (PDF, 1.55 MB) between the Federal state, the Communities and the Regions concerning the representation of Belgium within the bodies of the European Union.
 

DG EUR consists of a multidisciplinary team of around sixty people and is headed by Director-General Christophe de Nijs.

The Directorate-General comprises eight directorates. 

Our organizational chart
 

• Directorate EUR 0.0
• Directorate EUR 0.1
• Directorate EUR 1
• Directorate EUR 2
• Directorate EUR 3
• Directorate EUR 4
• Directorate EUR 5
• Directorate COREU

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Directorate EUR 0.0 (Coordination, Management and Support office)

The directorate EUR 0.0 is responsible for the overall coordination of Belgium’s European policy and is charged with preparing meetings for the European Council, the General Affairs Council and other ministerial and administrative meetings on European matters. Moreover, the directorate manages the coordination hub and supports the coordination mechanisms that define the strategic orientations of Belgium’s European policy, such as the coordinating secretariat for the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU.

The directorate EUR 0.0 is also responsible for the interinstitutional cooperation between Belgium and the European institutions.

Furthermore, the directorate EUR 0.0 is responsible for cross-cutting management matters (for example, the strategic and operational plan, management control and internal control, integrity policy, and so on), as well as internal and external communication, staff management, training, budget, infrastructure, logistics and other support services of the DG EUR.
 

Directorate EUR 0.1 (Strategy, Foresight and Governance)

The directorate EUR 0.1 supports the strategic and cross-cutting working of the DG EUR.

• The directorate contributes to the development of a strategic view for the European issues through analysis, policy preparation and prospective. It supervises the consistency between the different political areas and fosters an integrated approach of the European issues, paying a specific attention to horizontal themes such as the enlargement and internal reforms of the EU, the economic security, and so on.
• The directorate is also responsible for coordinating the definition of Belgium's position and following up the European Union enlargement policy.
• The directorate EUR 0.1 also facilitates the cooperation between the DG EUR and the geographical directorates.

Directorate EUR 1 (European treaties and institutions, freedom, security and justice, transposition of directives)

The directorate EUR 1 is responsible for:

• the follow-up of the institutional and conventional developments within the European Union;

• the management of the European files relating to the functioning of the institutions of the Union;

• the follow-up and coordination of the definition of the Belgian position within the Justice and Home Affairs Council (including civil protection);

• the Belgian coordination of the relations with the Regions and Communities, the preparation of the European files to be submitted to the Interministerial Conference for Foreign Policy (ICFP) and to the working group “mixed treaties”;

• the follow-up of the correct and timely transposition of European directives by Belgium, and the infringement proceedings that can result in a conviction with financial penalties imposed by the European Court of Justice, including the management of the EU Pilot program;

• the coordination of the definition of the Belgian position with regard to the ratification of European treaties.

Directorate EUR 2 (EMU, economic and social convergence, cohesion policy and budget of the EU)

The directorate EUR 2 is responsible for the follow-up and coordination of the Belgian position with regard to:

• the ECOFIN Council (Economic and Financial Affairs); 

• the EPSCO Council (Employment and Social Affairs).

Directorate EUR 3 (Competitiveness, Transport, Telecommunications and Energy, Digital Strategy, SOLVIT)

The directorate EUR 3 is responsible for the follow-up and coordination of the Belgian position with regard to:

• the Competitiveness Council (single market, industry, research and innovation, space);

• the TTE Council (Telecommunications);

• the TTE Council (Energy);

• the Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council (including audiovisual media);

• the European files relating to the civil use of nuclear energy.

The Belgian SOLVIT centre forms part of the directorate EUR 3. SOLVIT is an informal European network that helps citizens and companies solve problems resulting from the incorrect application of the single market rules by public authorities from other Member States.

Directorate EUR 4 (Agriculture, Fishery, Environment and Health)

The directorate EUR 4 is responsible for the follow-up and coordination of the Belgian position with regard to:

• the Agriculture and Fisheries Council;

• the Environment Council;

• the EPSCO Council (Public Health);

• the Telecommunications Council (Transport);

• the files of the Special Committee on Agriculture and of the COREPER I (Committee of the deputy permanent representatives of the Member States) submitted to consultation between the Federal state and the Regions within the permanent working group of the Interministerial Conference of Agricultural Policy (ICAP).

Directorate EUR 5 (Trade policy, WTO)

The directorate EUR 5 is responsible for the follow-up and coordination of the Belgian position with regard to:

• the trade issues falling within the competence of the European Union (more specifically via the activities of the Trade Policy Committee of the EU) and their follow-up on the international level, within the World Trade Organization or in other multilateral institutions;

• The Foreign Affairs Council (Trade).

COREU (European correspondent)

COREU follows up the European Union’s external action under the direction of the European correspondent (shared competence between DG EUR and DG PSD). COREU is responsible for the follow-up and coordination of the Belgian position with regard to:

• the EU’s foreign policy, including the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP);

• the follow-up of all international framework agreements of the European Union;

• the Foreign Affairs Council (including the Council configurations “Defence” and “Development Cooperation”)

• the European Political Community (EPC).

Moreover, the COREU acts as an expertise centre for a number of cross-cutting themes such as the posting of workers, the twinning/TAIEX, the political aspects of Global Gateway, and so on. Finally, the COREU works in close cooperation with the focal points within the geographical directorates.