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Council of the EU
Extraordinary meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council, 28 March 2022
Main results
Ministers met to discuss further coordination of the reception of refugees from Ukraine. Since 24 February 2022, around 3.8 million people, mainly women and children, have arrived in the European Union after fleeing from the war in Ukraine.
Ministers took stock of the means of material and financial support deployed with regard to both their level and their flexibility. They discussed possible additional financial needs as well as potential gaps in the support provided by the agencies. Discussions on medium and long-term needs for assistance will now continue at expert level.
Ministers also addressed the implementation of the decision on temporary protection and expressed their support for further coordination of guidance and travel within the EU. In particular, they called on the Commission, with the assistance of eu-LISA, to act as quickly as possible to seek an IT solution that would allow for a centralised Europe-wide approach to the registration of Ukrainian refugees. Such consolidation at EU level of registration in national databases will make it easier to protect refugees, and in particular unaccompanied minors, and facilitate their travel within the EU. Ministers also took account of the ideas and pilot projects on the coordination between member states of rail and bus transport.
Ministers took note of the commitments made with regard to the reception of refugees from Moldova, with 14 500 places already proposed. They also welcomed the operational procedures approved by the Commission for the implementation of those evacuation operations.
Finally, ministers reiterated the need for the continued strict application of external border controls. They also supported the mobilisation of the EU network to fight organised and serious crime (EMPACT) in order to avoid the exploitation of the situation by criminals, including via human trafficking, online fraud and embezzlement of funds destined to support refugees or arms trafficking.
In the margins of the Council meeting, ministers had an opportunity to speak to the Ukrainian Minister for the Interior by video conference.
Following the meeting, the Commission presented a ten-point joint action plan, coordinated with the French Presidency of the Council of the EU, to provide operational responses to the situation.
10-Point Plan for stronger European coordination on welcoming people fleeing the war from Ukraine (European Commission)
EU response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (background information)
Meeting information
Meeting n°3863
Brussels
28 March 2022
14:30
Preparatory documents
Provisional agenda
Background brief
Outcome documents
List of participants
The Council today adopted its position on the 8th Environmental Action Programme (EAP). The 8th EAP will serve as a guide for environmental policymak…
Press material
Tuesday 29 March 2022
● Council of the EU
29/03/2022 10:29 | Press release |
Council adopts 8th environmental action programme
The Council today adopted its position on the 8th Environmental Action Programme (EAP). The 8th EAP will serve as a guide for environmental policymaking and implementation until 2030. The adoption of the Council’s position follows a provisional agreement reached with the European Parliament in December 2021 and is the final step of the adoption procedure.
The 8th EAP aims to accelerate the green transition in a just and inclusive way, with the 2050 long-term objective of ‘Living well, within the planetary boundaries’.
The six thematic priority objectives of the 8th EAP concern: greenhouse gas emissions reductions, adaptation to climate change, a regenerative growth model, a zero-pollution ambition, protecting and restoring biodiversity, and reducing key environmental and climate impacts related to production and consumption.
The Council and the Parliament agreed on several enabling conditions for achieving the priority objectives, in particular:
- decreasing the EU’s material and consumption footprints
- strengthening environmentally positive incentives
- phasing out environmentally harmful subsidies, in particular fossil fuel subsidies.
The co-legislators also agreed to include in the 8th EAP a mid-term review in 2024 of the progress achieved in reaching its thematic priority objectives. Following this review, the Commission should, if appropriate, submit a legislative proposal to add an annex to the 8th EAP, which contains a list and timeline of actions for the period after 2025.
Background
Environment action programmes have steered the development of EU environment policy since the early 1970s.
The European Commission presented its proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and the Council on a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2030 on 14 October 2020. The Council presidency and the European Parliament’s negotiators reached a provisional political agreement on the proposal on 1 December 2021.
That decision has been formally adopted. It will now be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and enter into force.
Council position at first reading on the 8th Environmental Action Programme
8th EAP: member states endorse provisional political agreement reached with Parliament (press release 10 December 2021)
Commission proposal for a General Union Environment Action Programme to 2030
Council conclusions on ‘The 8th Environment Action Programme - Turning the Trends Together’
Health ministers exchanged views on the next challenges of the EU’s strategy on COVID-19 vaccine solidarity, and the medical and humanitarian situati…
Meetings
Tuesday 29 March 2022
● Council of the EU
29/03/2022 19:18 | MEETING |
Main results - Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (Health), 29 March 2022
Health ministers exchanged views on the next challenges of the EU’s strategy on COVID-19 vaccine solidarity, and the medical and humanitarian situation as regards Ukraine.
Health ministers exchanged views on the next challenges of the EU’s strategy on COVID-19 vaccine solidarity, and the medical and humanitarian situati…
Council of the EU
Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (Health), 29 March 2022
Main results
After discussing the EU’s response to the impact of the war in Ukraine on public health, ministers exchanged views on the challenges that lie ahead for the EU’s vaccine strategy.
Health and humanitarian situation in Ukraine
The Commission informed delegations about the public health and humanitarian situation in Ukraine and the steps taken by the EU – particularly the setting-up of a solidarity mechanism to transfer Ukrainian patients, access to vaccination against infectious diseases, especially for children, and mental health initiatives.
Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to provide health support to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, but also to member states on the EU’s borders that are first in line when it comes to providing medical care for Ukrainian refugees.
Informal video conference of health ministers, 15 March 2022
Welcoming those fleeing war in Ukraine: Readying Europe to meet the needs (European Commission)
Infographic - COVID-19: the EU's contribution to global vaccine solidarity
See full infographicEU strategy on vaccine solidarity
Two years after the pandemic began and one year since vaccination campaigns were launched in the EU, member states discussed updating their strategy for supplying and donating vaccines in order to address new challenges for COVID-19 vaccination.
The epidemiological situation in connection with the spread of SARS-CoV-2 is improving in Europe and worldwide, and vaccine supply is now exceeding demand both in the member states and in the countries that receive donations from the EU.
The EU has committed to donating 700 million doses by mid-2022 to help reach the WHO’s target of vaccinating 70 % of the global population. By March 2022, member states had already supplied more than 400 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to the countries that needed them most, making the EU the world’s number one donor.
Sharing vaccines with countries that need them remains a core objective of the EU’s vaccine strategy, but developing how it is put into practice will help make it more effective.
Changes that could be made to the EU’s overall vaccine strategy include:
adapting vaccine purchase contracts to take account of the large share of Europe’s population who have received primary vaccinations and the stocks of doses member states have in reserve;
optimising delivery schedules for doses to be donated and the management of stocks, together with COVAX;
engaging in a regular dialogue with the manufacturers to enable these adaptations to be made.
Member states also stressed the importance of evaluating these options in the light of scientific advice and monitoring, shared at EU level.
Finally, the Member States insisted on the need to devise, as soon as possible, a definition of a common vaccination strategy, in particular concerning the possibility of extended access to a fourth dose.
Global solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic (background information)
Europe’s response to rare diseases (informal lunch)
More than 30 million European citizens have a rare disease, and 95 % of them are have still not been treated or are not receiving appropriate care.
In this context, the ministers discussed whether it would be useful to strengthen cooperation and coordination on rare diseases between Member States and at EU level. The presidency was keen to discuss the matter because it considers that boosting EU action in this field brings tangible benefits of the public health union to European citizens.
Cooperation among member states and medical establishments on rare diseases is already crucial in helping the patients suffering from them, but other tools may serve to make the EU’s action even more effective. In particular, ministers discussed the role that the future European Health Data Space would play in combating rare diseases. Access to high-quality health data within a safe framework could also help make new, safer, personalised treatment accessible sooner.
Any other business
The presidency informed ministers about the decision recently adopted by the Council authorising the opening of negotiations on behalf of the European Union for an international agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, as well as complementary amendments to the International Health Regulations.
An international treaty on pandemic prevention and preparedness (general information)
Council decision authorising the opening of negotiations for an international agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (information note)
Council gives green light to start negotiations on international pandemic treaty (press release, 3 March 2022)
The presidency reported on the various events in the field of health that had been held since January 2022. These included conferences on the resilience of health systems (18 January), on digital health (2 February), global health (9 February), rare diseases (28 February) and resistance to antibiotics (7 March), and the informal EPSCO Council meeting in Grenoble (10 February) on building a public health union.
Finally, the presidency informed ministers about the ongoing negotiations between the Council and the European Parliament to agree on a common position on the regulation on serious cross-border threats to health.
The Council also adopted without discussion the items that figured in the list of non-legislative A items.
The Council adopted a regulation amending Regulation (EC) No 138/2004 as regards regional economic accounts for agriculture.
Agreement reached on collection of regional farming data (press release, 29 November 2021)
Regulation of the European parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EC) No 138/2004 as regards regional economic accounts for agriculture
Meeting information
Meeting n°3861
Brussels
29 March 2022
10:00
Preparatory documents
Provisional agenda
Provisional list of A items
List of A items, non-legislative activities, addition 1
List of A items, non-legislative activities
List of A items, legislative deliberations
Background brief
Outcome documents
List of participants
