The European Council was created in 1974 with the intention of establishing an informal forum for discussion between Heads of State or Government. It rapidly developed into the body which fixed goals for the Union and set the course for achieving them, in all fields of EU activity. It acquired a formal status in the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht, which defined its function as providing the impetus and general political guidelines for the Union's development. On 1 December 2009, with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, it became one of the seven institutions of the Union.

The European Council is formed by the 27 heads of state and governance of the respective Member States and chaired by a permanent Presidency. Therefore, only issues of highest political importance which prior negotiations did not solve are dealt with by the European Council, which aims to provide general guidance and further impetus for European integration. Except where the Treaties provide otherwise, decisions of the European Council are taken by consensus. In some cases, it adopts decisions by unanimity or by qualified majority, depending on what the Treaty provides for.

TOPIC A: Serbia’s future EU membership: current situation and challenges to face.

European Union enlargement has important implications for the economic and political transition of Serbia and potential candidate states of the Western Balkans. The principal objective is to guarantee peace, security and prosperity in the region. The last enlargements have in general been successful for the new Member States as for the oldest ones. The lessons learned from the past have lead to establish a modern strategy, improving the carrot method and enhancing the flexibility of the measures.

The reelection of the pro-European Boris Tadic as the head of the Serbian Government in February of 2008 has facilitated the enhancement of the relations between the EU and Serbia. The arrestment in July of 2008 of the war criminal Karadij and in May of 2011 of Mladic testified the real will of Serbia to become an EU member state. On 29th April 2008, Serbian officials signed a Stabilization and Association Process. Thus, Serbian citizens gained a visa-free travel to the Schengen zone on December 2009 and finally, Serbia officially applied for EU membership in December 2009. On October 2011, the European Commission declared that Serbia was granted an official EU candidate Status which proved the success of its application "On the basis of the progress achieved in reforms, co-operation with the International Court Tribunal for ex-Yugoslavia, and regional reconciliation, we have decided to recommend granting Serbia Candidate Status on the understanding that Belgrade re-engages in the dialogue with Kosovo and is moving swiftly to the implementation in good faith of agreements reached to date". But Serbia steel has many challenges to resolve before being accepted as Member State of the European Union

Is Serbia improving itself regarding these matters? Would an agreement with Kosovo be possible to facilitate its adhesion? What are the principal measures that Serbia should take in order to really deserve its membership?

TOPIC B: The European Labour Market in the light of future EU enlargement

The European labour market describes the demographic profile of the labour force in the European Union, which has been shaped by the free movement of workers ever since the 1957 foundation of the European Economic Community. This feature of the European common market has gone through a continuous and dynamic process of redesigning, mainly triggered by the waves of European integration which changed its demographic profile. The 2004 accession of Eastern European countries, followed by the 2007 accession of Romania and Bulgaria, did nothing but to highlight these changes, which had important reactions in the political systems of Western European countries. Radical right-wing parties with nationalist messages seem to hold a stronger grip on the European policy-making process than ever before, as they see the new members of the European Union to pose a threat for the nationals of their own countries when it comes to occupying the labour market.

Moreover, the European working age population is expected to slowly decrease in the near future. This is why the EU is trying to pursue policies which it hopes would counterbalance the negative effects. The Luxembourg Job Summit was the place where the idea of a European Employment Strategy was launched, putting on paper some very ambitious goals: achieving full employment, increasing productivity and quality at work, and promoting cohesion. A few years later, the Lisbon Strategy vowed to make Europe the World's most dynamic knowledge-based economy by 2010, but the evaluations of this project are mixed, some EU leaders considering it to be a failure.

Apart from this, the current Global financial crisis puts pressure on the future strategies, which are nolens volens influenced by the declining economies of European countries. What would be the best path that the European Union should follow in order to avoid the negative impact of this unforeseen situation and how could the European labour market be reshaped in order to overcome the current shortcomings? And which of the solutions fit best in order to keep together what has already been achieved? These and many other questions should be addressed in order to find solutions for the present topic, focusing on the effects that the European enlargement (past and future) have on the apparently fragile European labour market.

Countries:

• Eu Member States
• Serbia
• Turkey