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Council of the European Union     24/10/2019 Economy of wellbeing: the Council adopts conclusions The Council today adopted conclusions on the economy of wellbeing inviting the member states and the Commission to include an economy of wellbeing perspective horizontally in national and Union policies and to put people and their wellbeing at the centre of policy design. The concept of the economy of wellbeing is a priority for the Finnish presidency. Its core claim is that while people’s wellbeing is a value in itself, it is also vitally important for the Union’s economic growth, productivity, long-term fiscal sustainability and societal stability. Full text of the conclusions Infographic on the economy of wellbeing The Economy of Well-being - OECD Background Paper Council of the European Union     23/10/2019  2020 EU budget: Council cannot accept EP amendments The Council has informed the European Parliament that it cannot accept all the amendments for the 2020 EU budget adopted today in the Parliament’s plenary. This triggers a three-week conciliation process, which will start on 29 October. The Council and the Parliament will have until 18 November to bridge their differences. "I am pleased to see that the Council and the Parliament share many priorities for next year's budget. At the core of these priorities are job creation and fighting climate change, addressing the important areas of security and migration, and focusing in particular on young people. This provides a good basis for our efforts to agree on a budget with appropriate funding levels for the different programmes and areas, based on a prudent and realistic approach and the best interest of European taxpayers." Kimmo Tiilikainen, State Secretary in the Ministry of Finance of Finland and chief Council negotiator for the 2020 EU budget In its draft budget for 2020 the Commission proposed setting the total level of commitments at €168.3 billion and payments at €153.6 billion. The Council's position, adopted on 3 September, sets total commitments at €166.8 billion and total payments at €153.1 billion, which is -€1.5 billion and -€0.5 billion less, respectively, compared to the Commission's proposal. Nevertheless, the Council's position still represents an increase of +0.6 % in commitments and +3.3 % in payments when compared to the budget voted in 2019. The Parliament is asking for total commitments to be increased to €171.0 billion and total payments to €159.1 billion. This position goes above the ceilings set by the EU's multiannual financial framework for 2014-2020. Next steps The conciliation committee will meet on 4 November and on 15 November. At the latter date an Ecofin/Budget Council will meet to provide the presidency guidance for the talks with the Parliament. If no deal is found by the end of the conciliation period on 18 November the Commission has to present a new draft budget for 2020. Draft EU budget for 2020 Council position 2020 EU budget: Council supports continued focus on growth, innovation, security and migration (press release, 3 September 2019) 2020 EU budget: Council agrees its position (press release, 10 July 2019) Eurogroup     24/10/2019  Statement by the Eurogroup President on the candidates for the post of ECB executive board member At the 9 October Eurogroup, I asked euro area members to put forward candidates to succeed European Central Bank Executive Board member, Sabine Lautenschläger, who decided to step down as of 31 October 2019, before the end of her full term. By the deadline of the call for candidates, Germany was the only country to put forward a name: Isabel Schnabel, professor at the University of Bonn and member of the German Council of Economic Experts. Ministers will consider this proposal at the 7 November Eurogroup. This is the first step towards the final appointment by the European Council. Background on process The Eurogroup meeting of 7 November will consider and discuss the application. On the following day, the Ecofin Council is expected to adopt a recommendation to the European Council by reinforced qualified majority voting of the euro area member states. Such a majority requires 72% of euro area member states in favour (i.e., at least 14 out of the 19), representing at least 65% of the population of the euro area. The European Council will take the final decision on the appointment after having consulted the ECB and the European Parliament. European Council     22/10/2019  Report by President Donald Tusk to the European Parliament on European Council meetings of 17 and 18 October 2019 Please allow me to present my last report from the European Council. Let us focus on three matters. Firstly, the European Council condemned Turkey’s unilateral military action in North East Syria. No-one is fooled by the so‑called ceasefire. Turkey needs to end its military action permanently, withdraw its forces and respect international humanitarian law. Any other course means unacceptable human suffering, a victory for Daʼesh and a serious threat to European security. The European Council also reconfirmed its full solidarity with Cyprus, faced with Turkey's illegal drillings off its coast. When it comes to Brexit, the European Council endorsed the deal reached by our negotiator and Prime Minister Johnson's government. As you know, it is based on the deal that we agreed with the previous government. The changes concern the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, formerly known as the backstop. Prime Minister Johnson's acceptance to have customs checks at the points of entry into Northern Ireland will allow us to avoid border checks between Ireland and Northern Ireland, and will ensure the integrity of the Single Market. The revised deal was possible and acceptable to the EU because: firstly, it had the support of Ireland; secondly, it had the support of the European Commission, ensuring that all our negotiating objectives were met; and thirdly, because it avoids a chaotic no-deal Brexit. On the Council side, we have just finalised the necessary steps for the EU's approval, and the legal texts are now with you. The European Parliament has a role to play, and it is an important one. The situation is quite complex following events over the weekend in the UK, and the British request for an extension of the Article 50 process. I am consulting the leaders on how to react, and will decide in the coming days. It is obvious that the result of these consultations will very much depend on what the British parliament decides, or doesn’t decide. We should be ready for every scenario. But one thing must be clear: as I said to Prime Minister Johnson on Saturday, a no-deal Brexit will never be our decision. Finally, the leaders held a difficult debate on enlargement. Following the clear recommendation by the Commission, an overwhelming majority of member states wanted to open accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania. Despite this, the required unanimity was not possible last week. In my opinion, this was a mistake, which I have said to the leaders (and I was a bit more direct then). Now I can only hope that the leaders draw the right conclusions, when they discuss the accession process before the Zagreb summit in May 2020. Together with President-elect von der Leyen, the leaders also discussed the future of the European Union, in terms of its strategic agenda, the future EU budget and the incoming Commission’s priorities. We are determined that the EU leads the way in fighting the climate crisis. A socially just transition to a green economy is not only a necessity, but it is an opportunity to improve our environment, while creating jobs. As this is my last appearance here with Jean-Claude Juncker, I would like to express my greatest appreciation for him and his work. These were difficult five years for the Union, but we have always cooperated in good faith. Our respective roles and different perspectives sometimes meant political disagreements. But I can say without hesitation that Jean-Claude has always been devoted to Europe and served Europe well. And I am honoured to call you my friend. Thank you Jean-Claude. I also want to thank the European Parliament for five years of good cooperation. It doesn't mean that we have always agreed. Quite the contrary. But I have always respected you knowing that we share the same goal: to protect our Union and our people. Thank you.