The General Affairs Council, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister,  Evangelos Venizelos, is taking place in Brussels today (18.3.2014).

The Council will discuss preparations for the European Council on 20-21 March (draft European Council conclusions), a Synthesis report on the 2014 European Semester exercise, as well as a Communication on the Rule of Law Mechanism.

Live broadcast will be available here from 08:45 (CET)

Today's General Affairs Council looked at the preparations for the European Council meeting on 20-21 March, which will discuss issues related to growth, competitiveness, jobs, energy and climate, the situation in Ukraine and the EU-Africa relations.

The Council also focused on the presidency synthesis report on the 2014 European Semester Exercise which gives a broad picture of the steps necessary to implement the Europe 2020 strategy. Finally, ministers discussed a Commission’s communication on the rule of law, while over lunch had an exchange of views on the principle of subsidiarity.

Find below the video of the Press conference held after the meeting.

Read more here.