Council of the EU,update

 

Press material Thursday 23 November 2023

● Council of the EU   23/11/2023 20:10 | Press release | Third-country nationals: EU updates rules for long-term resident status   At a meeting of the Council’s permanent representatives committee, EU member states agreed their negotiating mandate for updating the EU Long-Term Residents Directive. This directive sets out the conditions under which third-country nationals can acquire EU long-term resident status. "The possibility to obtain long-term resident status is essential for people residing legally in the EU. It is an important stimulus to study or carry out a job and to fully integrate in our societies." Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gómez, Spanish Minister for the Interior In order to aqcuire EU long-term resident status, third-country nationals have to legally and continuously reside in a member state for at least five years. This EU status exists alongside national long-term resident schemes. Acquiring long-term resident status In accordance with the Council position, third-country nationals can cumulate residence periods of up to two years in other member states in order to meet the requirements of the five-year residence period. However, in the event of an applicant having resided in another member state, the Council has decided to accept only certain types of legal residence permits, such as holders of EU Blue Cards or residence permits issued for the purpose of highly qualified employment. Certain conditions will apply in order for applicants to be able to acquire long-term resident status. For instance, third-country applicants must provide evidence of stable and regular resources that are sufficient to maintain themselves and the members of their family, as well as sickness insurance. Member states may also require third-country nationals to comply with integration conditions. Long-term resident status is permanent. However, it can be withdrawn in certain cases, for instance when a person has not had their main residence in the EU for a certain period of time. Intra-EU mobility rights Unlike national residence systems, EU long-term resident status grants status holders the possibility to move and reside in other EU countries, for instance for work or studies. This right to intra-EU mobility is not an automatic right but is subject to a number of conditions. Such a condition is that member states may assess the situation of their national labour markets in case an EU long-term resident moves to their country from another EU member state for work. Equal treatment with EU nationals EU long-term residents enjoy the same treatment as nationals with regard to access to employment and self-employment, education and vocational training and tax benefits, for example. There are a number of conditions, such as the requirement that holders of a residence permit live within the territory of the member state concerned.

Meetings Thursday 23 November 2023

● Council of the EU   23/11/2023 19:33 | MEETING | Main results - Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council, 23-24 November 2023   On Thursday 23 November, education and youth ministers met in Brussels and adopted two recommendations, on digital skills and competences and on key enabling factors for successful digital education and training. They also approved conclusions on the contribution of education and training to strengthening common European values and democratic citizenship. They discussed ways to empower young people in decision-making processes in the European Union and they approved conclusions on youth mainstreaming and on young people’s mental health.

Meetings Thursday 23 November 2023

● Council of the EU   23/11/2023 18:31 | MEETING | Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (Employment and social policy), 27-28 November 2023   Background Brief - Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council 27-28 November 2023

Meetings Thursday 23 November 2023

● Council of the EU   23/11/2023 18:12 | MEETING | Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (Health), 30 November 2023   Background brief - Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (Health), 30/11/2023

Press material Thursday 23 November 2023

● Council of the EU   23/11/2023 17:24 | Press release | Climate finance: Council approves 2022 international climate finance figures   In 2022, the European Union and its 27 member states contributed EUR 28.5 billion1 in climate finance from public sources and mobilised an additional amount of EUR 11.9 billion2 of private finance to support developing countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The Council approved the figures today, in preparation for the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28), which will take place from 30 November to 12 December in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The figures are based on the EU climate finance reporting rules laid down in the governance regulation.3 In 2022, over 54% of the EUR 28.5 billion public funding for developing countries was dedicated to either climate adaptation or cross-cutting action (involving both climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives), with close to half of the total funding (almost 49%) coming in the form of grants, according to data compiled by the European Commission. The EU and its member states are determined to continue delivering on their international climate finance commitments towards the developed countries' collective goal of mobilising USD 100 billion per year, which is applicable through to 2025. This resolve is demonstrated by the new level of EU climate finance reached in 2022, which represents a significant progression compared to previous years. International public climate finance plays an important role in helping developing countries to implement the 2015 Paris climate change agreement, together with climate finance from private sources. 1 Climate finance from public budgets includes EUR 4.0 billion from the EU budget and the European Development Fund and EUR 5.7 billion from the European Investment Bank. The overall public figure is calculated by using a new methodology, based on commitments for bilateral and disbursements of multilateral finance made in 2022. For the 2020 and 2021 figures, the overall public contribution was calculated based on commitments, for both bilateral and multilateral support. The new methodology aims to improve clarity and accuracy in reporting the contributions, by using the disbursements on multilateral finance as basis for calculations, to minimise the risk of over-reporting in case of delayed, partial or decommissioned disbursements from multi-year commitments. If previous years’ methodology was employed, the overall public finance contribution for 2022 would have been EUR 30.5 billion, up from EUR 23 billion in 2021. 2 The figure regards the private financial support mobilised through public interventions (e.g., guarantees, syndicated loans, direct investment in companies, credit lines, etc.). It does not include any amounts of public finance utilised for the mobilisation of this private financial support. 3 EU member states reported data on commitments pursuant to article 19.3 of regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 (‘governance regulation’) and article 6 and annexes III-V of Commission implementing regulation 2020/1208. Council conclusions on climate finance in view of the COP 28: Replacement of paragraph 15 Council conclusions on international Climate finance, 17 October 2023 Climate finance: Council approves conclusions ahead of COP 28 (press release, 28 October 2023) Financing the climate transition (background information) Climate change: what the EU is doing (background information) Climate goals and the EUʼs external policy (background information) COP 28 website