COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION latest

Press material Wednesday 24 May 2023

● European Council   24/05/2023 22:10 | Statements and remarks | Remarks by President Charles Michel at the 25th anniversary of the European Central Bank   Thank you for your invitation to celebrate 25 years of the European Central Bank. I started my political career before the Maastricht Treaty and before the launch of the Euro. Our generation learned to count using the Franc, the Mark, the Lira, all our different national currencies. But today, finally, we have one clear answer to the longstanding question: when I’m in Europe, how should I pay? Europe has come a long way since I bought my first second-hand motorbike in Belgian francs. And the European Central Bank is an excellent example. This institution is a concrete expression of the progress we have made on our European journey. This is a concrete expression of how European ideas, how European dreams have grown and taken shape. That is why it’s such a pleasure to be here with you today: to pay tribute to the important role the ECB plays in the vitality of our Union. You are in charge of our Union’s monetary policy, you are ensuring the stability of one of the world’s key reserve currencies, the euro. You have the crucial job of monitoring and supervising our banks so EU citizens can have confidence that their money is safe and secure, more important today than ever. We can all be proud of what has been achieved in these past 25 years, all of you here today, the members of the governing bodies, and staff, you have breathed life into the dreams of our European founding fathers. The birth of the ECB, in 1998, was a milestone in the history of the European Union. It symbolised a commitment to a new era of economic integration, stability, and sovereignty. The euro, a world-class currency, has grown into a powerful symbol of European unity and European identity. And we, Europeans, have developed a strong bond with our currency. The ECB and the euro also play a crucial role beyond the financial world. You help to make us more sovereign and more independent in global affairs. I am strongly convinced: European sovereignty is the challenge of our generation, more important now than ever. With strong and competitive economies, we have greater influence in the world, we have more clout to promote our values, we have more clout to defend our interests and to uphold the international rules-based order, we have more resources to tackle collective challenges, like fighting climate change. The ECB and the euro bolster our sovereignty at least in three ways: First, the euro reinforces our economic stability and helps us to counter external shocks. Second, the euro gives us more leverage in international trade. And third, our economic and monetary union helps to drive forward EU integration. Our Banking Union is a good example. It has made our banking system strong and resilient but we still need to complete our journey. And that’s why at our last Euro Summit, we called for continued efforts to complete our Banking Union and to speed up progress on our Capital Markets Union, to boost our economies with more investment, to drive forward innovation and generate jobs and to speed up our green and digital transitions. As we celebrate the first 25 years of the ECB, it also makes us think about the next 25 years. Success is measured not in how we start, but in how well we advance. Let’s build on our progress with openness and creativity, to make sure we are up to the challenges of the next 25 years: to be at the forefront of the green and digital transitions, to ensure our energy and economic security, and to promote our values through partnership building. We have the people, we have the passion, and the determination to be a success and we have a clear compass to guide us, our European values and the promises of the EU peace and prosperity. The challenges are many and European sovereignty must be our answer, our path to making the EU stronger and to better control our own destiny, without letting others decide for us. We must build our sovereignty together, brick by brick: Next Generation EU, security and defence, our steadfast support to Ukraine. That is how we defend Europe's values and interests, both at home and abroad. And you, at the ECB, dear Christine (Lagarde) you play a key role. A special thanks to the staff of the ECB and the National Central Banks for your hard work and dedication. Happy Birthday, ECB! Bon anniversaire!

Press material Thursday 25 May 2023

● Council of the EU   25/05/2023 11:25 | Press release | WTO: Council approves an agreement on fisheries subsidies to boost environmental sustainability   On 25 May 2023, the Council adopted a decision approving, on behalf of the EU, the conclusion of a World Trade Organization (WTO) protocol establishing a fisheries subsidies agreement. The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is the first WTO agreement that focuses on environmental sustainability, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14.6 (UN SDG). It includes: a strong prohibition of subsidies contributing to illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing with unprecedented transparency provisions. an absolute prohibition of subsidies for fishing on the unregulated high seas. a provision on overfished stocks will bring sustainability rules for subsidies regarding the most vulnerable stocks in the first phase of the agreement. 12th WTO Ministerial Conference At the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference that took place on 12-17 June 2022 in Geneva, consensus was reached on the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. The 12th WTO Ministerial Conference adopted the Protocol Amending the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization by inserting the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, into the Marrakech Agreement after the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. The protocol was opened for acceptance by WTO members. The Agreement The Agreement includes substantial limitations on subsidising unsustainable fishing, notably: prohibition of subsidies to illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing prohibition of subsidies for fishing outside of the jurisdiction of a coastal State and outside the competence of a relevant regional fisheries management organisation (RFMO/A) to protect the most vulnerable areas lacking established and coordinated fisheries management regime prohibition of subsidies to fishing regarding overfished stocks conditional on sustainability standards to rebuild such stocks to healthy level disciplines regarding subsidies benefitting vessels not flying the flag of the subsidising Member extensive transparency and notification provisions to monitor the implementation of the Agreement Background on 9 November 2022, the Commission submitted to the Council a proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion on 5 December 2022, the Council forwarded the draft Decision on the conclusion to the European Parliament for its consent the European Parliament provided its consent to the conclusion of the protocol on 19 April 2023 Next steps The Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies will enter into force once two-thirds of WTO members have completed their domestic ratification processes. WTO Members also agreed at MC12 to continue negotiations on outstanding issues, with a view to making recommendations by MC13 for additional provisions that would further enhance the disciplines of the Agreement. The decision was taken without discussion at a meeting of the FAC (Trade) Council. Council Decision on the conclusion of the Protocol amending the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (28/11/2022) Protocol amending the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

 

Library blog Thursday 25 May 2023

● General Secretariat of the Council   New books added to the Council Library's collection - May 2023   New books added to the Council Library's collection - May 2023

New books added to the Council Library's collection - May 2023

• 25 May 2023
 
• New books
 
• gsclibrary

 

Discover our selection of books recently added to the Council Library collection. To get a fuller view, please consult the list in Eureka, the online catalogue of the Council libraries.

• New books May 2023

Highlights:

• L'état de l'Union : rapport Schuman 2023 sur l'Europe

Also available in English :

• State of the Union : the Schuman report on Europe 2023

”Cette 17ème édition du Rapport Schuman sur l'Europe, l'état de l'Union, dresse un état : Des défis lancés à l'Europe - Quels sont les enjeux de sécurité et défense? Quels défis politiques, en particulier pour l'intégration européenne? Quels défis économiques, en analysant les conséquences sur le modèle de croissance européen? ...”

• The European Union, its neighbours, and the proliferation of "privileged partnerships"

”This edited volume provides a timely analysis of the European Union’s ‘privileged’ partnerships with neighbouring countries, identifying key points of comparison. It analyses which policy areas are covered and why, the reasons why a specific institutional arrangement has been chosen, the major advantages and shortcomings for both sides and ...”

• The new European Central Bank : taking stock and looking ahead

”The authors analyse the most salient and controversial elements of the ECB's crisis response, including unconventional monetary policy measures and the ECB's risk management strategy. Beyond monetary policy, the book further examines the role played by objectives such as financial stability and environmental sustainability, ...”

• Advances in collective decision making : interdisciplinary perspectives for the 21st century

“The contributions address, amongst others, topics such as measuring power, the manipulability of collective decisions, and experimental approaches. Applications range from analysis of the complicated institutional rules of the European Union to responsibility-based allocation of cartel damages or the design of webpage rankings.”

• Migration control logics and strategies in Europe : a North-South comparison

”The chapters cover a wide range of policy domains, from visa policy to the externalisation of controls, labour migration to asylum, internal controls towards irregular migration to restrictions for intra-EU mobility.”

• Governance of the world's mineral resources : beyond the foreseeable future

”The book demonstrates the urgent need to implement sustainable utilization of mineral resources, in order to ensure that these resources will be sufficiently available for future generations too. The availability of resources, especially for modern technologies, is an increasingly important issue.”

The publications mentioned in this post do not necessarily represent the positions, policies, or opinions of the Council of the European Union or the European Council.

The Council Library is open on working days from 12.30 to 15.30. You can reach the Info Desk by email (library@consilium.europa.eu).

Press material Thursday 25 May 2023

● Council of the EU   25/05/2023 11:32 | Press release | Ukraine: Council adopts renewal of temporary trade liberalisation and other trade concessions   The Council adopted today a Regulation which renews the suspension of all customs duties, quotas and trade defence measures on Ukrainian exports to the EU for another year, until June 2024. By renewing these measures the EU is continuing to demonstrate its unwavering political and economic support for Ukraine, which is still facing Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression. The measures will help Ukraine to maintain the stability of its trade relations with the EU and to keep its economy going under very challenging circumstances. Coupled with extensive military, financial and humanitarian support, this is crucial to help Ukraine in its long-term recovery. "Russia's unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine has had a devastating impact on the country's economy. The renewed Autonomous Trade Measures will unequivocally support Ukraine and at the same time they provide the EU with a way of protecting if necessary the internal market from significant increase in imports of some agricultural products." Johan Forssell, Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade The regulation adopted today will apply for a period of one year and concerns the following: all outstanding customs duties under Title IV of the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine establishing a deep and comprehensive free trade area (DCFTA). This concerns two categories of products: fruits and vegetables subject to the entry-price system, and agricultural products and processed agricultural products subject to tariff-rate quotas the collection of anti-dumping duties on imports originating in Ukraine as of the date of entry into force of this Regulation the application of the common rules for imports (safeguards) with respect of imports originating in Ukraine The trade-liberalising measures are taken in observance of the commitment in Article 2 of the Association Agreement (DCFTA), which enshrines as an essential element of the Agreement the promotion of respect for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity, inviolability of borders and independence. Background and next steps The Commission tabled its proposal on the renewal of temporary trade liberalisation supplementing trade concessions applicable to Ukrainian products under the Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their member states, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part, on 23 February 2023. On 28 April, the Permanent Representatives Committee confirmed that should the European Parliament approve the Commission’s proposal without amendments, the Council would approve the European Parliament’s position. On 9 May, the European Parliament adopted its first-reading position by taking over the Commission’s proposal without any amendments. Now that the Regulation has been adopted, it will be signed by the representatives of the Council and the European Parliament and published in the Official Journal, before entering into force on 6 June. Ukraine Association Agreement: regulation on temporary trade liberalisation EU response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine (background information) EU-Ukraine Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, European Commission

Meetings Thursday 25 May 2023

● Council of the EU   25/05/2023 15:43 | MEETING | Main results - Foreign Affairs Council (Trade), 25 May 2023   The Foreign Affairs Council, in its Trade configuration, discussed the state of play of the trade relations with the United States. Ministers also discussed recent developments in EU-China trade relations. The Commission informed about the preparation for the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13). During a working lunch ministers focused on the ongoing bilateral trade negotiations. Council of the EU Foreign Affairs Council (Trade), 25 May 2023 Main results Trade relations with the United States The Foreign Affairs Council, in its Trade configuration, took stock of the state of play on the key issues in EU-US trade relations and prospects for our continued engagement with the US. Ministers focused on the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC), ahead of its fourth meeting next week in Sweden (Luleå, 30-31 May). They recalled that this platform is of key importance in the current geostrategic context and expected further concrete and balanced outcomes in the short term and beyond. The TTC constitutes one of the most important events during the Swedish EU presidency and is an important platform for deepening the cooperation with the US.Johan Forssell, Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Continuing engagement to find pragmatic solutions to EU concerns over the discriminatory elements of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), including reaching a targeted Critical Minerals Agreement and increasing transparency and cooperation on respective green tech incentives’ programmes was also one of the requests of the Ministers. Continuing the work on a Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminium was also seen as a priority. Any agreed solution must put a definite end to the US “Section 232" tariffs and thus normalise bilateral trade in steel and aluminium, respect the relevant EU legislation and be compatible with the WTO rules.EU-US trade relations EU-US Trade and Technology Council Joint EU-US Statement on a Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminium Trade relations with China Ministers held a discussion on EU-China trade relations. The strategic debate focused on existing and potential critical trade dependencies with China and the exploration of instruments which would be needed to handle those risks. Ministers also discussed how trade and investment relations with China could be rebalanced through engagement and how to support efforts at the EU level in this regard. The Commission explained that the economic de-risking strategy is to be developed across 4 areas:making the EU’s economy and industry more competitive and resilient better using the EU’s existing toolbox of trade instruments China’s changing policies may require developing new defensive tool for some critical sectors alignment with partners The Commission informed about the preparations for the upcoming EU-China High-Level Dialogue for Economy and Trade, expected to take place before the end of the year. World Trade Organization (WTO): preparation for the 13th Ministerial Conference Ministers received information from the Commission about the latest updates around the preparation of the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC13). The MC13 package is expected to include the following:restoring the Dispute Settlement Mechanism/Appellate Body the extension of the e-commerce moratorium and the e-commerce work programme the WTO reform the agreement and the negotiations on fisheries subsidies agriculture with a special focus on food security development, special and differential treatment, and Least Developed Countries Graduation and LDC issues. plurilateral negotiations on Investment Facilitation and e-commerce, environment/sustainable development and the plurilateral negotiations on the matter some pending files from the previous Ministerial ConferenceWTO Ministerial Conferences Lunch: Ongoing bilateral trade negotiations Ministers were briefed by the Commission on the state of play of ongoing bilateral trade negotiations. The Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis addressed the trade negotiations with Australia and indicated that the aim is to reach an agreement as soon as possible, hopefully by mid July, provided that the substance is right. He also referred to negotiations with India, Indonesia and Kenya (the latter being in the final stretch) and mentioned the negotiations with Eastern and Southern Africa. The Commission also debriefed Ministers about the latest developments in EU-Mercosur negotiations on an “additional legal instrument” focusing on issues related to sustainability and climate change. EU-Australia trade agreement (background information) EU-India trade agreement (background information) EU-Indonesia trade agreement (background information) EU trade relations with the East African Community (background information) Other decisions The Council approved today, as point without debate, the renewal of temporary trade liberalisation and other trade concessions to Ukraine.Ukraine: Council adopts renewal of temporary trade liberalisation and other trade concessions (press release, 25 May 2023) The Council approved today, as point without debate, a WTO agreement on fisheries subsidies to boost environmental sustainability.WTO: Council approves an agreement on fisheries subsidies to boost environmental sustainability (press release, 25 May 2023) The Council also adopted without discussion the items on the lists of legislative and non-legislative A items. Meeting information Meeting n°3951 Brussels 25 May 2023 09:30 Preparatory documentsProvisional agenda List of A items, legislative deliberations List of A items, non-legislative activities Background brief Outcome documentsList of participants

Meetings Friday 26 May 2023

● Council of the EU   26/05/2023 10:48 | MEETING | General Affairs Council, 30 May 2023   Background brief - General Affairs Council, 30 May 2023 Press material Wednesday 24 May 2023   ● Council of the EU   24/05/2023 17:47 | Press release | Waste shipments: Council ready to start talks with Parliament   Today the Council adopted its negotiating mandate to start talks with the European Parliament on a proposal to update EU legislation on cross-border waste shipments. The aim is to ensure that international shipments of waste don’t pose a threat to human health and the environment, and to promote the use of waste as a resource in a circular economy. "We cannot continue to export our waste problems. This regulation will give us better guarantees that the waste we send abroad doesn’t harm health and the environment. Inside the EU, it will encourage the use of waste as a secondary material so that waste can bring positive economic value to us and contribute to a more circular economy." Romina Pourmokhtari, Swedish Minister for Climate and the Environment More effective rules The proposal to revise the waste shipment regulation aims to: ensure that waste is only sent to destinations where it’s properly treated modernise, harmonise and digitalise procedures for shipments within the EU, and promote the transport of waste destined for recycling tackle illegal waste shipments that pass through the cracks because of diverging procedures and lack of control The Council’s stance The Council in its negotiating mandate agreed with the broad objectives of the new proposal. It agreed notably to ban waste exports for disposal to another member state, except under strict conditions and to ban non-hazardous waste shipments to non-OECD countries, unless they expressly consent to it and can prove they treat the waste in an environmentally sound manner. Scope and subject matter The Council introduced several clarifications and changes. In particular it added a target to reach “climate neutrality” to the objectives of the directive. It also aligned a number of definitions, for example on “shipment”, “illegal shipment”, “notifier”, “route”, throughout the text and made them consistent with other legislative acts. Intra-EU shipments The Council introduced more realistic timelines in the procedure of prior written notification and consent, ‘PIC’. According to this procedure exporters need to notify and receive a written confirmation from the countries of dispatch, destination and transit prior to export. In addition, the Council strived to reduce the administrative burden and to bring the ‘PIC’ procedure more in line with the procedure as it is currently actually implemented in the member states. As regards so-called ‘green-listed waste’, for which a less stringent procedure applies, the Council introduced stricter requirements to improve the control of these waste streams and a take-back procedure in case their shipments cannot be completed as intended. For take-back obligations in the specific case of illegal shipments, the Council added a possibility for alternative arrangements for recovery or disposal of the waste instead of applying a take-back procedure. Digitalised procedures The Council supported the streamlining and digitalising of the notification, consent and information procedures for intra-EU shipments. The Council made several amendments to ensure clarity and consistency throughout the regulation in relation to the electronic exchange of documentation system. The Council also extended some notification timelines in order to give sufficient time to competent authorities to obtain and assess the information and documentation. Exports of waste For shipments outside the EU member states, the Council agreed that waste management facilities at the country of destination should be audited by independent bodies every three years. The audits would prove that the facilities treat waste in an environmentally sound manner and operators would only be allowed to export waste to these facilities if this is the case. Member states proposed to establish a register maintained by the Commission, that contains information on facilities that have been subject to an audit to help waste exporters prepare for shipments. Exporters would however still bear the responsibility for their exports being environmentally sound. The Council also clarified which waste, especially unlisted waste, can be exported and how. The Council agreed to empower the Commission to adopt implementing acts setting criteria to differentiate between used goods and waste, to avoid waste being smuggled as used goods. The Commission would also be able to harmonise the classification of waste at EU level, notably by adopting delegated acts to set criteria, such as thresholds for contamination in wastes, in order to determine how harmful it is and avoid misunderstandings on whether they should be subject to the notification procedure. Illegal shipments The Council agreed to the Commission’s proposal to set up a waste shipment enforcement group, that would facilitate and improve cooperation and coordination between member states, in order to prevent and detect illegal shipments. Member states agreed to empower the Commission to carry out investigative and coordinating actions in respect of illegal shipments. These actions would support and complement the member states' enforcement activities, but not interfere with prosecutions or national legal proceedings. Regarding penalties for infringements, the Council added flexibility for member states to adapt the provisions on penalties to their different national legal systems. Application In order to give more time for preparations, the Council provided that the new conditions for export of waste should apply after three years. The provisions related to the Commission would apply immediately, while the main application date of the new Regulation should be 24 months after its entry into force. Other changes The Council included a tacit consent provision for shipments between an outermost region and its member state transiting through another member state. It also added a possibility to object to imports of mixed municipal waste destined for recovery due to national circumstances or a risk that the waste will not be recovered in an environmentally sound manner. Next steps The Council is now ready to start negotiations with the European Parliament to agree on the final shape of the legislation. Once a provisional agreement has been found, the final text would have to be formally adopted by both institutions. Background The waste shipment regulation implements the provisions of the Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal and the correlated OECD decision into EU law. The EU waste shipment regulation covers the export and import of waste from the EU to third countries, as well as shipments between EU Member States of hazardous and non-hazardous waste. The regulation notably prohibits the export of hazardous waste from OECD and EU countries to non-EU, non-OECD countries. The regulation also sets out notification and consent procedures for waste shipments. Since the adoption of the regulation in 2006, exports of waste from the EU to third countries have considerably increased, notably to countries that are not members of the OECD. The lack of detailed provisions to ensure that waste is managed sustainably in the countries of destination has led to weak enforcement and environmental and public health challenges in those countries. The Commission adopted its proposal to update the waste shipment regulation on 17 November 2021. Council negotiating mandate (to be published at a later stage) Commission proposal on a Regulation on shipments of waste Basel Convention OECD countries

Meetings Wednesday 24 May 2023

● Council of the EU   24/05/2023 17:16 | MEETING | Main results - European Economic Area Council, 24 May 2023   The European Economic Area (‘EEA’) Council discussed the overall functioning of the EEA Agreement and long-term competitiveness in the internal market in the face of global challenges.

Council of the EU
European Economic Area Council, 24 May 2023

Main results
Family photo of the European Economic Area Council held in Brussels on 24 May 2023

The 56th meeting of the European Economic Area ('EEA') Council took place in Brussels on 24 May 2023.

The EEA Council discussed the overall functioning of the EEA Agreement and held an orientation debate entitled ‘Building long-term competitiveness in the internal market in the face of global challenges’.

The meeting was chaired by Ms Jessika Roswall, Minister for EU Affairs of Sweden, representing the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It was attended by Ms Anniken Huitfeldt, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Ms Dominique Hasler, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein, and Ms Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland; as well as by Vice President Šefčovič and representatives of the European External Action Service.
Political dialogue

The meeting of the EEA Council was preceded by an informal political dialogue with the EEA EFTA states. The discussions focused on Ukraine and China.


Meeting information

24 May 2023
13:30
Preparatory documentsProvisional agenda
Progress report by the EEA Joint Committee
Draft minutes of the 55th meeting of the EEA Council, 23 November 2022