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On this day, when we commemorate the fifth anniversary of the tragic downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which led to the death of 298 innocent people, our hearts are with all those who lost their loved ones and we continue to share their grief.
The European Union reiterates its full support for all efforts to establish truth, justice and accountability for the victims and their next of kin, in accordance with UNSC Resolution 2166.
In this context, the EU welcomes the announcement by the Joint Investigation Team on 19 June 2019 that criminal charges will be brought in the Netherlands against four individuals.
The EU calls on Russia to accept its responsibility and cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation. The EU expresses its full confidence in the independence and professionalism of the legal procedures that lie ahead.
| Council of the European Union | |
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Declaration by the High Representative, Federica Mogherini, on behalf of the EU on the occasion of the Day of International Criminal Justice, 17 July 2019
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As we mark the International Criminal Justice Day, the European Union reaffirms its longstanding support towards the international criminal justice system and in particular its unwavering commitment to the International Criminal Court (ICC), as part of the EU's wider commitment to a rules-based international order.
Last year we marked the 20th anniversary of the Rome Statute of the ICC by committing to use all our internal and foreign policy tools to support the fight against impunity and to seek justice, as a core element of achieving sustainable peace and security, contributing to rebuild trust and reconciliation among the affected communities. The EU and its Member States will pursue their work towards the universal ratification and implementation of the Rome Statute. The EU and its Member States are committed to uphold and defend the principles and values enshrined in the Rome Statute and to preserve its integrity, as persistent challenges to the international criminal justice constitute a serious obstacle to its full efficiency.
International justice mechanisms are essential to ensure that the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole are investigated, perpetrators are brought to justice and victims receive adequate assistance and reparation for the harm suffered. We shall never forget atrocities from the past but rather keep them as part of our collective human memory and determination to prevent future conflicts and genocides. That is why the EU contributes each year to the promotion of international criminal justice with over €38 million since 2014, by supporting the ICC and transitional justice initiatives and mechanisms for numerous countries, such as the international mechanisms in Syria and Myanmar.
Worldwide, the EU contributes to wider justice sector reforms through programmes aimed at complementing and reinforcing national justice systems, and will continue engaging in efforts to support human rights workers, lawyers, prosecutors and all contributors to the international justice system who relentlessly work to bring justice and protect fundamental human rights.
| Council of the European Union | |
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EU priorities at the United Nations and the 74th United Nations General Assembly adopted
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The Council today adopted conclusions on the EU's priorities at the 74th UN General Assembly(September 2019 – September 2020). These conclusions complements the Council conclusions on strengthening multilateralism which were adopted on 17 June 2019.
The EU's engagement for a more peaceful, cooperative and just world rests on common values - peace, democracy, human rights, the rule of law, gender equality, sustainable development - as well as the EU's profound commitment to effective multilateralism.
In recent years, the EU has intensified its engagement as a global player and is translating multilateralism into action. In the current global context, the EU seeks to reaffirm the added value and relevance of the UN, and to prove that it delivers benefits to people around the world. The EU will continue to work with and support the United Nations, as part of its efforts to promote, develop and reform the rules-based international order.
Recognising the importance of the United Nations at the core of effective multilateralism, the EU and its member states will focus at the 74th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations on three mutually reinforcing priorities: 1. Conflict prevention, peace and security, 2. A common positive agenda, 3. Engagement on global challenges.
| Council of the European Union | |
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Turkish drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean: Council adopts conclusions
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Today, the Council adopted the following conclusions on the Turkish drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean:
"1. Recalling the Council conclusions of 18 June 2019 and previous European Council conclusions, notably those of 20 June 2019, the Council deplores that, despite the European Union's repeated calls to cease its illegal activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey continued its drilling operations west of Cyprus and launched a second drilling operation northeast of Cyprus within Cypriot territorial waters. The Council reiterates the serious immediate negative impact that such illegal actions have across the range of EU-Turkey relations. The Council calls again on Turkey to refrain from such actions, act in a spirit of good neighbourliness and respect the sovereignty and sovereign rights of Cyprus in accordance with international law.
2. The Council, welcoming the invitation by the Government of Cyprus to negotiate with Turkey, notes that delimitation of exclusive economic zones and continental shelf should be addressed through dialogue and negotiation in good faith, in full respect of international law and in accordance with the principle of good neighbourly relations.
3. The EU remains fully committed to supporting the UN-led efforts to work with the parties with a view to creating the conditions conducive to resuming negotiations on a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem. In this regard, the Council recalls that it remains crucial that Turkey commits and contributes to such a settlement, including its external aspects, within the UN framework in accordance with relevant UNSC Resolutions and in line with the principles on which the EU is founded and the acquis.
4. In light of Turkey’s continued and new illegal drilling activities, the Council decides to suspend negotiations on the Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement and agrees not to hold the Association Council and further meetings of the EU-Turkey high-level dialogues for the time being. The Council endorses the Commission’s proposal to reduce the pre-accession assistance to Turkey for 2020 and invites the European Investment Bank to review its lending activities in Turkey, notably with regard to sovereign-backed lending.
5. The Council remains seized of the matter and, in accordance with the European Council conclusions of 20 June, invites the High Representative and the Commission to continue work on options for targeted measures in light of Turkey’s continued drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Council will closely monitor developments and will revert to this issue as appropriate."
| Συμβούλιο της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης | |
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Δραστηριότητες γεώτρησης της Τουρκίας στην Ανατολική Μεσόγειο: Το Συμβούλιο εγκρίνει συμπεράσματα
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Σήμερα, το Συμβούλιο ενέκρινε τα ακόλουθα συμπεράσματα σχετικά με τις δραστηριότητες γεώτρησης της Τουρκίας στην Ανατολική Μεσόγειο:
«1. Υπενθυμίζοντας τα συμπεράσματα του Συμβουλίου της 18ης Ιουνίου 2019 και προηγούμενα συμπεράσματα του Ευρωπαϊκού Συμβουλίου, ιδίως εκείνα της 20ής Ιουνίου 2019, το Συμβούλιο εκφράζει τη λύπη του για το γεγονός ότι, παρά τις επανειλημμένες εκκλήσεις της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης να σταματήσει τις παράνομες δραστηριότητές της στην Ανατολική Μεσόγειο, η Τουρκία συνέχισε τις εργασίες γεώτρησης δυτικά της Κύπρου και ξεκίνησε δεύτερη δραστηριότητα γεώτρησης βορειοανατολικά της Κύπρου εντός κυπριακών χωρικών υδάτων. Το Συμβούλιο επισημαίνει εκ νέου τις σοβαρές και άμεσες αρνητικές επιπτώσεις των παράνομων αυτών ενεργειών σε όλο το φάσμα των σχέσεων ΕΕ-Τουρκίας. Το Συμβούλιο καλεί και πάλι την Τουρκία να απόσχει από τέτοιες ενέργειες, να ενεργεί με πνεύμα καλής γειτονίας και να σέβεται την κυριαρχία και τα κυριαρχικά δικαιώματα της Κύπρου σύμφωνα με το διεθνές δίκαιο.
2. Το Συμβούλιο, εκφράζοντας την ικανοποίησή του για την πρόσκληση από την κυβέρνηση της Κύπρου να διαπραγματευθεί με την Τουρκία, σημειώνει ότι η οριοθέτηση αποκλειστικών οικονομικών ζωνών και υφαλοκρηπίδας θα πρέπει να αντιμετωπιστεί μέσω διαλόγου και διαπραγματεύσεων με καλή πίστη, με πλήρη σεβασμό του διεθνούς δικαίου και σύμφωνα με την αρχή των σχέσεων καλής γειτονίας.
3. Η ΕΕ παραμένει πλήρως προσηλωμένη στην υποστήριξη προσπαθειών που καταβάλλονται υπό την αιγίδα του ΟΗΕ για συνεργασία με τα μέρη με σκοπό να δημιουργηθούν οι συνθήκες που θα επιτρέψουν να επαναρχίσουν διαπραγματεύσεις για μια συνολική διευθέτηση του κυπριακού προβλήματος. Συναφώς, το Συμβούλιο υπενθυμίζει ότι παραμένει επιτακτικής σημασίας να δεσμευθεί και να συμβάλει η Τουρκία σε μια τέτοια διευθέτηση, μεταξύ άλλων και των εξωτερικών πτυχών του, εντός του πλαισίου των Ηνωμένων Εθνών σύμφωνα με τις σχετικές αποφάσεις του Συμβουλίου Ασφαλείας των ΗΕ και σε ευθυγράμμιση προς τις αρχές στις οποίες είναι θεμελιωμένη η ΕΕ και προς το ενωσιακό κεκτημένο.
4. Υπό το φως των συνεχιζόμενων και νέων παράνομων δραστηριοτήτων γεώτρησης της Τουρκίας, το Συμβούλιο αποφασίζει να αναστείλει τις διαπραγματεύσεις για τη συνολική Συμφωνία Αεροπορικών Μεταφορών και συμφωνεί να μην πραγματοποιήσει προς το παρόν το Συμβούλιο Σύνδεσης και περαιτέρω συνεδριάσεις τού υψηλού επιπέδου διαλόγου ΕΕ-Τουρκίας. Το Συμβούλιο συμφωνεί με την πρόταση της Επιτροπής να μειωθεί η προενταξιακή βοήθεια προς την Τουρκία για το 2020 και καλεί την Ευρωπαϊκή Τράπεζα Επενδύσεων να επανεξετάσει τις δανειοδοτικές της δραστηριότητες στην Τουρκία, ιδίως όσον αφορά τον δανεισμό με κρατικούς τίτλους.
5. Το Συμβούλιο εξακολουθεί να ασχολείται με το θέμα και, σύμφωνα με τα συμπεράσματα του Ευρωπαϊκού Συμβουλίου της 20ής Ιουνίου, καλεί την Ύπατη Εκπρόσωπο και την Επιτροπή να συνεχίσουν να διερευνούν επιλογές για στοχευμένα μέτρα σε σχέση με τις συνεχιζόμενες δραστηριότητες γεώτρησης της Τουρκίας στην Ανατολική Μεσόγειο. Το Συμβούλιο θα παρακολουθεί εκ του σύνεγγυς τις εξελίξεις και θα επανέλθει στο θέμα αυτό, όπως ενδείκνυται.»
| Council of the European Union | |
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Imports of hormone-free beef: EU-US agreement confirmed
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The European Union and the United States of America will soon sign an agreement reviewing the functioning of an existing trade arrangement ensuring an autonomous tariff quota (TRQ) for imports of high-quality beef into the EU. This will provide a solution to a longstanding dispute in the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the issue.
The Council today adopted a decision on the signing of an agreement between the EU and the United States on the allocation to the US of a share in the TRQ for high quality beef referred to in the so-called Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the importation of beef from animals not treated with certain growth-promoting hormones and increased duties applied by the US to certain products from the EU, concluded in 2009 and revised in 2014.
The agreement will be signed in Brussels at the earliest possible date.
Back in 2009, the MoU provided for an interim solution to a longstanding WTO dispute regarding the imports of US beef treated with certain growth-promoting hormones. Under the agreement, a 45,000 tonnes quota of non-hormone treated beef was open by the EU to qualifying suppliers. Under WTO rules the quota also had to be made available to non-US suppliers.
Thanks to the new agreement the existing quota will remain unchanged but 35,000 out of the total 45,000-tonne TRQ will be ring-fenced for the United States and phased in over a period of 7 years. The TRQ will continue to cover only products complying with EU's high food safety and health standards. This step is key to resolving a long-standing dispute between the EU and the United States on measures imposed by the EU in 1989 on US exports of meat that contained artificial beef growth hormones. It also underlines the EU's commitment to a positive transatlantic trade agenda.
On 19 October 2018, the Council authorised the Commission to open negotiations between the EU and the US on the operation of the TRQ, including on the country-allocation of the quota.
Negotiations with the US were concluded on 27 February 2019 and, in light of that agreement, the Commission then sought and obtained the accord of the other substantial supplying countries, in line with the applicable WTO rules.
| Council of the European Union | |
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Council adopts negotiation directives for modernisation of Energy Charter Treaty
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The Council has today given a mandate to the European Commission to begin negotiations on the modernisation of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT). It also adopted corresponding negotiating directives.
The aim of the negotiations is to modernise the provisions of the ECT so that it takes account of sustainable development and climate goals, as well as modern standards of investment protection and investor-to-state dispute settlement. The objective of the modernised ECT should be to facilitate investment in the energy sector in a sustainable way, provide for legal certainty and ensure a high level of investment protection.
Among the main elements of the EU's negotiating directives is a focus on ensuring that climate change and clean energy transition goals are reflected in the modernised ECT. This includes a clarification that the EU can require market participants from third countries to comply with applicable EU and member states' laws, including those concerning environmental and safety policy.
The EU will aim to bring the provisions on investment protection in line with the modern standards of agreements recently concluded by the EU and its member states. It will also look to ensure that the modernised ECT continues to aim at a high level of investment protection. The modernised ECT should explicitly reaffirm the so-called "right to regulate", i.e. the right of the contracting parties to take measures for the protection of health, safety, the environment and other public policy objectives. The EU also aims to clarify that investment protection provisions cannot be interpreted as a commitment by the contracting parties not to change their laws. Investor-to-state dispute settlement provisions should reflect the EU approach in its investment protection agreements and the position taken by the EU in ongoing multilateral reforms.
| Council of the European Union | |
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Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty
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The European Union calls on all States to uphold the integrity of the rules-based international system with effective multilateralism as a key principle. This is indispensable for maintaining international peace and security. We areconcerned that the international disarmament and non-proliferation regime is under great strain.
Bearing in mind the severe and increasingly volatile security environment, we stress the need to preserve and further advance general arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation processes and call for further progress on all aspects of disarmament and non-proliferation to enhance global security. The viability and effectiveness of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation agreements require that those agreements be fully complied with and enforced.
In this context, we highlight the importance of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty which has made a significant contribution to European security and broader international security over the past 30 years. Almost three thousand missiles with nuclear and conventional warheads were removed from European soil and verifiably destroyed, constituting a tangible contribution by the two nuclear weapon States with the largest arsenals to the implementation of their disarmament related obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
We are deeply concerned over developments with regard to the INF Treaty, which could end on 2 August 2019. We regret the formalisation of Russia’s suspension of its obligations under the INF Treaty on 3 July 2019. We strongly urge the Russian Federation to effectively address the serious concerns repeatedly expressed about the development, flight testing and deployment of its ground-based missile system 9M729 and the serious concerns this has raised about non-compliance with the INF Treaty. In that regard, substantial and transparent actions must be taken immediately to ensure full and verifiable compliance with the INF Treaty provisions. The upcoming days represent the last opportunity for dialogue and taking the necessary measures to preserve this important component of European security architecture.
The European Union reaffirms its longstanding commitment to verifiable and effective treaty-based nuclear arms control and disarmament. We therefore encourage the preservation of the INF Treaty achievements. Given the heightened tensions, we must be careful not to enter the path of a new arms race that would offset the significant reductions achieved after the end of the Cold War. We encourage the United States and the Russian Federation to seek further reductions to their arsenals, including strategic and non-strategic, deployed and non-deployed nuclear weapons, taking into account the special responsibility of the States that possess the largest nuclear arsenals. We would welcome early and active dialogue on the future of New START post-2021, and on other arms control arrangements.
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