COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,update

 

Press material Tuesday 12 April 2022

● Council of the EU   12/04/2022 11:00 | Press release | Presidency press release - Future of Europe: Conference nears finalisation of policy recommendations   The Conference on the Future of Europe Plenary session on 8-9 April debated concrete proposals. Chairs and spokespersons of nine Working Groups tabled consolidated draft proposals, grouped by theme, to the Conference plenary. The proposals were mainly based on the recommendations of European Citizens’ Panels, national panels, and ideas from the Multilingual Digital Platform. These proposals were discussed by all Plenary Members. The Conference on the Future of Europe Plenary session on 8-9 April debated concrete proposals. Chairs and spokespersons of nine Working Groups tabled consolidated draft proposals, grouped by theme, to the Conference plenary. The proposals were mainly based on the recommendations of European Citizens’ Panels, national panels, and ideas from the Multilingual Digital Platform. These proposals were discussed by all Plenary Members. Next steps The final Conference Plenary session is scheduled for 29-30 April in Strasbourg, where proposals are expected to be approved by the Plenary on a consensual basis, with a final say of the citizens component. These proposals will be then put forward to the Conference’s Executive Board, with the final report delivered to the Presidents of the EU institutions on 9 May in Strasbourg for the closing ceremony of the Conference. For More Information Recordings of the plenary sessions by topic are available on the following links: Health European Democracy Migration Values and rights, rule of law, security Education, culture, youth Stronger economy, social justice and jobs Climate change and the environment EU in the World Digital Transformation You can watch recordings from the Working Group meetings on EBS. The press conference with the three co-chairs can be found here.

● Council of the EU

12/04/2022 10:27 | Press release | EU-UK relations: the Council adopts legislation to ensure continued supply of medicines   The Council today adopted a directive and a regulation to ensure continued supply of medicines to Northern Ireland, and to Cyprus, Ireland and Malta. These texts will enter into force on the day of their publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, which is expected in the next few days. The measures will apply retroactively from 1 January 2022. The aim of the directive is to preserve the uninterrupted supply of medicinal products for human use in Northern Ireland after the withdrawal of the United Kingdom, under the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. It will also, exceptionally and for a transitional period of three years, allow medicinal products from the United Kingdom to be placed on the market in Ireland, Malta and Cyprus under derogations from the requirement for authorisation holders to be established in the European Union. The regulation is closely linked to the directive and is aimed at ensuring the supply of investigational medicinal products to the same markets. Background With this legislation, the European Union intends to facilitate the implementation of the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland on the ground, in line with the measures for Northern Ireland presented by the Commission on 13 October 2021. Link to the text of the directive Link to the text of the regulation ● Council of the EU   12/04/2022 10:42 | Press release | Ukraine: EU countries to receive €3.5 billion in additional pre-financing for hosting refugees   In order to facilitate the hosting of refugees fleeing Ukraine due to the Russian aggression, the Council today adopted a legislative act making available an additional €3.5 billion in total this year, which member states will receive based on the numbers of refugees arriving from Ukraine. The act introduces changes to increase pre-financing under the Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe (REACT-EU), one of the largest post-pandemic recovery programmes, to reinforce cohesion policy funds and the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD). Specifically, pre-financing to be paid from REACT-EU in 2022 will increase from 11% to 15% for all member states, and from 11% to 45% for EU countries where the number of arrivals from Ukraine was greater than 1% of their population at the end of the first month following the Russian invasion. To simplify the mobilisation of funds, the act also introduces the option of a unit cost per person, making it possible to meet the basic needs of displaced persons from Ukraine more effectively and provide them with basic assistance. These changes seek to alleviate the pressure on member states’ public budgets, so that they can better deal with the inflow of refugees. For further details: Press release, 6 April 2022 Amended regulation on increased pre-financing from REACT-EU resources EU response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine (background information)