COUNCIL OF THE EU:latest news

 

Press material Monday 17 July 2023

● Council of the EU   17/07/2023 23:14 | Press release | Black Sea Grain Initiative: Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on Russia’s termination of the Black Sea Grain Initiative   The European Union condemns unequivocally Russia’s decision to terminate the Black Sea Grain Initiative. With its decision, Russia is further exacerbating the global food security crisis it created by its war of aggression against Ukraine and its blockade of Ukrainian sea ports. Russia must cease illegally blocking Ukrainian sea ports and allow freedom of navigation on the Black Sea. The Black Sea Grain Initiative has been crucial for ensuring the export of Ukraine’s grain to global markets, helping vulnerable populations in need. Together with the EU-Ukraine “Solidarity Lanes”, the partial reopening of the Black Sea ports has been instrumental in stabilising and lowering unprecedented high food prices caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Prices of global food staples had steadily declined over the last year, bringing the Food Price Index of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) down by 23% from the peak reached in March 2022. The Black Sea Grain Initiative has allowed the safe export of nearly 33 million tonnes of grain and foodstuffs to 45 countries by over one thousand vessels. This includes considerable amount of 725.000 tonnes of grain shipped by vessels chartered by the World Food Programme (WFP) in support of its humanitarian operations in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen. Even throughout the war, Ukraine remained WFP’s biggest supplier of wheat in 2022, supplying more than half of WFP’s global wheat grain procurement. All this is at risk now. Russia continues weaponizing food. By terminating the agreements, Russia is single-handedly blocking one of the crucial main export routes from Ukraine of grains for human consumption and is solely responsible for disruptions of grain deliveries worldwide and fuelling food price inflation globally. The EU urges Russia to reconsider its decision and immediately resume implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The EU will spare no efforts to continue to support the timely and stable delivery of all goods, especially agricultural products to global markets through EU-Ukraine “Solidarity Lanes”. The EU will continue to work with affected partner countries in its comprehensive Team Europe response to address global food insecurity. The EU will continue to support all efforts towards the resumption of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Press material Monday 17 July 2023   ● European Council   17/07/2023 17:35 | Speech | Speech of President Charles Michel at the opening ceremony of the EU-CELAC summit   It’s a pleasure to welcome you all to Brussels and to return your warm hospitality from the last two summits I had the privilege to participate in – in Mexico and Argentina. And I would like to thank the current and former presidents of CELAC, Prime Minister Gonsalves and President Fernández for our close cooperation to set the stage for a successful summit. The Argentinian writer, Jorge Luis Borges, once said: “Contrary to love, friendship does not require frequency”. Today’s meeting is proof of that. It has been eight years since our last EU-CELAC summit. But I can feel – and we can feel – the energy, the excitement, and yes, the friendship between our continents. Today the world is very different from 2015. In the past few years, we have seen the ravages of climate change, a global pandemic and now the war against Ukraine. Today climate change is grabbing our planet by the throat. And our planet is fighting for every breath: boiling temperatures; raging wildfires; massive floods. Countries on your continent and ours, threatened by dramatically rising sea levels – like in the Caribbean. Together, we need to act urgently and decisively. COVID-19 hit our continents hard. No matter where we live – in Rome or Mexico City, Warsaw or Rio de Janeiro – we felt the ravages. Our societies and economies scarred by the lockdowns, driving up inequality and pushing the world’s poorest deeper into debt. There is another big difference between today and 2015. As we speak, a permanent member of the UN Security Council is attacking a neighbouring country. Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine is a tragedy for Ukraine and for the world, with devastating consequences for food security, energy prices and the global economy. This war blatantly violates the fundamental principles of the UN Charter. And the vast majority of countries in the UN General Assembly have voted on multiple resolutions to condemn this illegal war. Every country on this planet must be safe. That’s why Russia must not be allowed to succeed. It will be a recipe for disaster for multilateralism and our rules-based system. We also need to make our international financial system more just. The current system is simply not fair. So we want to engage more with all of you to reform the international financial architecture, to close the gap between rich and poor. The recent Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact helped to develop new ideas. And Prime Minister Mottley of Barbados and UN Secretary-General Guterres have been strong advocates for this. You can count on the EU. We believe in a multi-polar world. We don’t want a bi-polar world, because this often comes at a cost for our interests and our autonomy. But we must never forget who we are and what we represent. The leaders here today represent one billion people and over 20% of global GDP. We share common roots, values, culture, and deep economic and social links. And we are a powerful force in the UN General Assembly – defending democracy, multilateralism and human rights. We are also close trade and investment partners, with massive untapped potential. We can do so much more together for the good of both our continents and our people. The challenges we face are urgent and complex. We cannot allow another eight years for our next summit. More regular summits – every two years – and a permanent coordination mechanism will ensure consistent progress. By banding together, we can develop clean economies that are good for our planet and a digital transformation that powers forward our economies and societies. And most importantly, always at the service of people’s well-being, a human-centred economic model. To make a success of our green and digital transformations, we need an ambitious investment agenda. We need partnerships for transformative projects that promote our Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement. Lastly, this summit should help us to move forward in the trade agreements with Chile, Mexico and Mercosur. These trade deals have the potential to bring us closer together. And to strengthen our ties, especially with today’s rising tensions and disrupted supply chains. Today we are breathing new life into the bond that connects our two continents. Guided by our belief in democracy, individual liberties and fair societies, together we can make the world more peaceful and more prosperous. Thank you.

Library blog Monday 17 July 2023

● General Secretariat of the Council   Readers of Europe 2023 - Croatian recommendation   Over the course of the summer, the Council Library, in collaboration with the permanent representations to the EU, will recommend books to read from across the EU. It’s the fourth instalment of our Readers of Europe initiative, and this year, the spotlight will be placed on female authors. Today’s selection is by the Permanent Representation of Croatia to the EU – 'Zemlja bez sutona' by Marija Andrijašević.

Library blog Monday 17 July 2023

● General Secretariat of the Council   Navigating the Spanish Presidency of the Council with our Library guide   To support your navigating of the priorities of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union the Council Library has compiled a Library Guide of relevant and authoritative resources. Meetings Monday 17 July 2023   ● European Council   17/07/2023 09:18 | MEETING | EU-CELAC summit, 17-18 July 2023   Background brief - EU-CELAC summit, 17-18 July 2023 Press material Sunday 16 July 2023   ● Council of the EU   16/07/2023 14:25 | Statements and remarks | Ukraine: Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on the occasion of the 9th anniversary of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17   On 17 July, we commemorate the ninth anniversary of the tragic downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, when 298 people of 17 different nationalities lost their lives. The European Union continues to feel deep sympathy for all those who lost their loved ones. The European Union reiterates its full support for all efforts to establish the truth, achieving justice for the 298 victims of the downing of Flight MH17 and their next of kin and holding those responsible to account, in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2166. On 23 June 2023, the European Union listed two individuals who took active part in Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine from an early stage. In November 2022 these individuals were convicted for the downing of Flight MH17 by the Dutch District Court. The European Union emphasizes that the evidence presented by the Joint Investigative Team in the proceedings before the Dutch District Court and the European Court of Human Rights makes it clear the BUK installation used to bring down Flight MH17 belonged beyond doubt to the armed forces of the Russian Federation. In its admissibility ruling on 25 January 2023 in the case of Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia, the European Court on Human Rights was the first international court to confirm Russia’s involvement in the downing of Flight MH17. The decision is final and will be followed by a judgment on the merits, at a later date. Recalling its previous statements, the European Union takes note of all legal proceedings that are taking place in this regard and expects Russia to accept its responsibility and to fully cooperate with efforts to establish truth, justice and accountability for the victims and their next of kin. This statement is issued on the 9th anniversary of the of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, commemorated on 17 July 2023.

Press material Saturday 15 July 2023

● European Council   15/07/2023 19:17 | Statements and remarks | Press remarks by President Charles Michel following trilateral meeting with President Aliyev of Azerbaijan and Prime Minister Pashinyan of Armenia   We have just finished the sixth meeting with President Aliyev and Prime Minister Pashinyan. Our exchanges have once again been frank, honest and substantive. Our meeting was the latest in a series of intensive and productive high-level meetings involving Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s leaders, Deputy Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers since early May, in Brussels, Chișinău, Washington, Moscow and on the bilateral border. We are going through one of the most comprehensive and vigorous stages of negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. I commended the leaders for their strong commitment to the peace process and encouraged them to take further courageous steps to ensure decisive and irreversible progress on the normalisation track. And even though our meeting took place in the context of a worrying increase in tensions on the ground, I noted important momentum in the political discussions and efforts. We discussed all issues on the agenda. Sovereignty and territorial integrity The Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders once again fully reconfirmed their respect for the other country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Based on the understanding that Armenia’s territory covers 29.800 km2 and Azerbaijan’s 86.600 km2. Border delimitation Both leaders reconfirmed their unequivocal commitment to the 1991 Almaty Declaration as a political framework for the delimitation. I welcomed the 12 July meeting of the two border commissions. Work has advanced on the statutes of these commissions and on discussions regarding the basis for delimitation. And — this is very important — the leaders agreed to intensify and accelerate the work of the commissions. Connectivity On connectivity, the sides have also made clear progress over the past two months in their discussions aimed at unblocking transport and economic links in the region. We discussed modalities of future transport arrangements which will respect the principles of sovereignty, jurisdiction and reciprocity. The construction of the railway connection should be undertaken forthwith. The EU would be ready to contribute financially. Some details still require clarification, but positions on this topic are now getting closer and options are being actively explored. Humanitarian supplies We discussed the situation of the Karabakh Armenian population and the situation around the Lachin corridor. The current state of affairs is clearly not sustainable and is in no one’s interest. We also discussed possible concrete steps to help bring the situation back to normal. I emphasised the need to open the Lachin road. I also noted Azerbaijan’s willingness to provide humanitarian supplies via Aghdam. I see both options as important and encourage humanitarian deliveries from both sides to ensure the needs of the population are met. I also welcomed the resumption of medical evacuations by the ICRC. Rights and security The population on the ground needs reassurances, first and foremost regarding their rights and security. In this context, I expressed the EU’s encouragement for direct dialogue between Baku and representatives of Armenians living in the former Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast. This dialogue should provide much-needed confidence for all those involved. Detainees We also discussed the issue of detainees. The leaders reconfirmed their commitment to the gentlemen’s understanding that the release of soldiers who inadvertently cross to the other side would be facilitated. I advocated for the release by both sides of detainees. The importance of ensuring increased cooperation in addressing the fate of missing persons and on demining was also discussed, and I once again called on the sides to exchange as much information as possible. Follow-up We agreed that our teams will remain in close contact to ensure concrete follow-up on what has been discussed today. Real progress depends on the next steps that will need to be taken in the near future. As a matter of priority, violence and harsh rhetoric should stop in order to provide the proper environment for peace and normalisation talks. I also reiterated my intention to invite the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders for another meeting in Brussels after the summer, as well as for another pentalateral meeting, with the participation also of the leaders of France and Germany, in Granada in the margins of the next European Political Community Summit.

Press material Sunday 16 July 2023

● Council of the EU   16/07/2023 12:07 | Press release | Day of International Criminal Justice: Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union   Access to justice is a fundamental human right. On 17 July, we acknowledge the importance of upholding and defending the system of international criminal justice as an essential tool of the international community to promote peace and security and protect the rights of the victims. As war rages on the European continent with Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, and in other regions of the world, including Sudan, Yemen, and Syria, a resilient and robust system of international criminal justice that can address the gravest and most shocking crimes is essential. We must stand firmly together in our commitment to holding those who perpetrate atrocities accountable for their actions. This year we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). This was a major step forward in the global fight against impunity. The ICC is the first permanent criminal judicial institution of universal character established to prosecute the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. As confirmed by the Council Conclusions of June 2023, we reaffirm our unwavering support for the Court, as an independent and impartial judicial institution. We renew our commitment to our obligations under the Rome Statute and our determination to defend the ICC against any attempt to undermine its work and any threats against it and its staff. The EU is actively engaged in supporting international criminal justice. Within Europe, the EU supports the strengthening of cooperation between the EU member states to prevent and combat international crimes through Eurojust and the European Network for the investigation and prosecution of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The EU has been instrumental in supporting the work of the International Criminal Court, international criminal tribunals and ad hoc national tribunals, truth and reconciliation commissions and redress mechanisms to protect the rights of victims to justice and reparation, as well as United Nations accountability mechanisms. The European Union will continue calling for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes to be brought to justice and held to account. No one – no matter who they are or where they are – must be allowed to escape justice.