General Affairs Council 26 January 2026 Main results
General Affairs Council
General Affairs Council,
26 January 2026
Main results
Ministers responsible for European affairs heard a presentation on
the Cyprus presidency priorities for this semester. In the context
of the annual rule of law dialogue, the Council held country-specific
discussions on the rule of law situation in Estonia, Denmark,
Greece and Spain and an exchange of views on the European
Democracy Shield.
At this first meeting of the General Affairs Council
under theCyprus presidency, I had the opportunity to present our priorities for the semester ahead. In an exceptionally challenging geopolitical environment, we will work to advance the EU's strategic autonomy and strengthen its role on the global stage, with a clear focus on security, defence readiness, competitiveness, and social cohesion.
Today’s rule of law exercise reaffirmed our commitment to an autonomous Union founded on shared values - one that leaves no one behind. Progress on the next Multiannual Financial Framework will, of course, remain at the top of our agenda. Enlargement, simplification, the rule of law and democratic values, as well as EU–UK relations, will be among the key priorities addressed within the General Affairs Council.
Marilena Raouna, Deputy Minister for European affairs of the Republic of Cyprus
Presidency priorities
The Council heard a presentation on the Cyprus presidency
priorities for its term of office and ministers had an opportunity
to present their comments.
Under the motto ‘An Autonomous Union. Open to the world’, the
Cyprus presidency will work to ensure that the challenges the EU
is currently facing are transformed into opportunities and that
EU’s ambition is matched with action and tangible results, based
on the following priorities:
autonomy through security, defence readiness and preparedness
autonomy through competitiveness
an autonomous Union, open to the world
an autonomous Union of values that leaves no one behind
a long-term budget for an autonomous Union
As regards the General Affairs Council configuration, work will
focus on ensuring a balanced and forward-looking EU budget,
driving the EU’s simplification agenda forward, defending and
promoting the Union’s fundamental values, democracy and the
rule of law, reinforcing citizens’ trust in the European project
and strengthening democratic resilience, delivering concrete
progress on the enlargement process, further enhancing
EU–UK relations, and strengthening cooperation with
EFTA countries and other non-EU Western European partners.
In the context of the annual rule of law dialogue, ministers held a country-specific discussion focusing on the rule of law situation in Estonia, Denmark, Greece and Spain.
This was the first round of country-specific discussion this year. For each country, the Commission first presented the main findings of the respective country-specific chapter in its 2025 rule of law report. The delegations concerned then presented key national developments and particular aspects of their national rule of law framework. This was followed by a round of comments and questions in which other delegations shared their experiences and best practices about the developments mentioned. Afterwards, the delegation whose situation was being discussed had the opportunity to present additional remarks.
Over a working lunch, ministers held an exchange of views on the European Democracy Shield. Together with an EU strategy for civil society, the Democracy Shield forms part of a ‘Democracy package’ presented by the Commission on 12 November 2025. The actions announced in the initiative should be gradually implemented by 2027.
The aim of the Democracy Shield is to provide a strategic approach to safeguard, strengthen and promote democracy in the long run. The proposed actions are grouped in three areas: reinforcing situational awareness and support response capacity to safeguard the integrity of the information space; strengthening democratic institutions, free and fair elections and free media and boosting societal resilience and citizens engagement. Additionally, the initiative proposes a new European Centre of Democratic Resilience and refers to EU funding for ‘investing in democracy’ as part of the Commmission’s proposal for the next Multiannual Financial Framework for 2028-2034.
In this context and based on a presidency’s steering note, ministers discussed topics and actions that the presidency should prioritise when advancing work in the Council on the implementation of the European Democracy Shield and more broadly for strengthening democratic resilience.
The French and Portuguese delegations informed the Council about the importance of EU’s outermost regions while the Spanish delegation provided information on the EU macro-regional strategy for the Atlantic.
The Council adopted, without discussion, the regulation on phasing out Russian imports of both pipeline gas and liquified national gas (LNG) in the EU, the so-called ‘REPowerEU’ regulation. The new rules also include measures on effective monitoring and diversification of energy supply. The regulation is a key milestone in delivering the REPowerEU objective of ending the EU’s reliance on Russian energy.
Over an informal breakfast, ministers held an exchange of views on simplification and better regulation with the Chair of the European Parliament’s Conference of Committee Chairs, Mr Bernd Lange.
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