COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,update

 

Press material Tuesday 5 March 2024

● Council of the EU   05/03/2024 02:37 | Press release | Council and Parliament strike a deal to ban products made with forced labour   The Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional deal on the regulation prohibiting in the EU market products made with forced labour. The provisional agreement reached today between the two co-legislators supports the main objective of the proposal to prohibit the placing and making available on the EU market, or the export from the EU market, of any product made using forced labour. The deal introduces significant modifications to the original proposal clarifying responsibilities of the Commission and national competent authorities in the investigation and decision-making process. "It is appalling that in the 21st century slavery and forced labour still exist in the world. This hideous crime must be eradicated and the first step to achieve this consists in breaking the business model of companies that exploit workers. With this regulation we want to make sure that there is no place for their products on our single market, whether they are manufactured in Europe or abroad." Pierre-Yves Dermagne, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Economy and Employment The database of forced labour risk areas and products Co-legislators have agreed that, to facilitate the implementation of this regulation, the Commission will establish a database containing verifiable and regularly updated information about forced labour risks, including reports from international organisations (such as the International Labour Organization). The database should support the work of the Commission and national competent authorities in assessing possible violations of this regulation. Risk-based approach The provisional agreement sets clear criteria to be applied by the Commission and national competent authorities when assessing the likelihood of violations of this regulation. These criteria are: the scale and severity of the suspected forced labour, including whether state-imposed forced labour may be a concern the quantity or volume of products placed or made available on the Union market the share of the parts of the product likely to be made with forced labour in the final product the proximity of economic operators to the suspect forced labour risks in their supply chain as well as their leverage to address them The Commission will issue guidelines for economic operators and competent authorities to help them to comply with the requirements of this regulation, including best practices for bringing to an end and remediating different types of forced labour. These guidelines will also include accompanying measures for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which can be available through the Forced Labour Single Portal. Who will lead the investigations? The agreement reached by the two co-legislators lays down the criteria to determine which authority should lead the investigations. The Commission will be leading investigations outside the EU territory. Where the risks are in the territory of a member state, the competent authority of that member state will lead the investigations. If competent authorities, while assessing the likelihood of violations of this regulation, find new information about the suspected forced labour, they must inform the competent authority of other member states, provided that the suspected forced labour is taking place in the territory of that member state. Similarly, they must inform the Commission if the suspected forced labour is occurring outside the EU. The deal reached today ensures that economic operators can be heard in all stages of the investigation, as appropriate. It also ensures that other relevant information will also be taken into account. Final decisions The final decision (i.e., to ban, withdraw and dispose of a product made with forced labour) will be taken by the authority that led the investigation. The decision taken by a national authority will apply in all other member states based on the principle of mutual recognition. In cases of supply risks of critical products made with forced labour, the competent authority can decide not to impose its disposal, and instead order the economic operator to withhold the product until it can demonstrate that there is no more forced labour in their operations or respective supply chains. The provisional agreement clarifies that, if a part of the product which is found to be in violation of this regulation is replaceable, the order to dispose of applies only to the part concerned. For instance, if a part of a car is made with forced labour, that part will have to be disposed of, but not the whole car. The car manufacturer will have to find a new supplier for that part or make sure that it is not made with forced labour. However, if tomatoes used to make a sauce are produced using forced-labour, all the sauce will have to be disposed of. Next steps The provisional agreement reached with the European Parliament now needs to be endorsed and formally adopted by both institutions. Background Roughly 27.6 million people are in forced labour around the world, in many industries and in every continent. Most forced labour takes place in the private sector, while some is imposed by public authorities. The Commission proposed the regulation to prohibit products made with forced labour in the EU on 14 September 2022. The Council adopted its negotiating position on 26th January 2024. Commission’s proposal Council’s general agreement / negotiating mandate

Press material Monday 4 March 2024

● Council of the EU   04/03/2024 20:01 | Press release | Packaging: Council and Parliament strike a deal to make packaging more sustainable and reduce packaging waste in the EU   Today, the Council presidency and the European Parliament’s representatives reached a provisional political agreement on a proposal for a regulation on packaging and packaging waste. The aim is to tackle the increase in packaging waste generated in the EU, while harmonising the internal market for packaging and boosting the circular economy. The proposal considers the full life-cycle of packaging. It establishes requirements to ensure that packaging is safe and sustainable, by requiring that all packaging is recyclable and that the presence of substances of concern is minimised. It also lays down labelling harmonisation requirements to improve consumer information. In line with the waste hierarchy, the proposal aims to significantly reduce the generation of packaging waste by setting binding re-use targets, restricting certain types of single-use packaging and requiring economic operators to minimise the packaging used. The deal reached today is provisional, pending formal adoption by both institutions. Main elements of the agreement Sustainability requirements and recycled content in packaging The text of the provisional agreement maintains most of the sustainability requirements for all packaging placed on the market and the headline targets proposed by the Commission. It strengthens the requirements for substances in packaging by introducing a restriction on the placing on the market of food contact packaging containing per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) above certain thresholds. To avoid any overlap with other pieces of legislation, the co-legislators tasked the Commission with assessing the need to amend that restriction within four years of the date of application of the regulation. The provisional agreement maintains the 2030 and 2040 headline targets for minimum recycled content in plastic packaging. The co-legislators agreed to exempt compostable plastic packaging and packaging whose plastic component represents less than 5% of the packaging’s total weight from those targets. The Commission will have to review the implementation of the 2030 targets and assess the feasibility of the 2040 targets. The agreement also calls on the Commission to assess, three years following the entry into force of the regulation, the state of technological development of bio-based plastic packaging and, on the basis of that assessment, to lay down sustainability requirements for bio-based content in plastic packaging. The new rules would reduce unnecessary packaging by setting a maximum empty space ratio of 50% in grouped, transport and e-commerce packaging, and requiring manufacturers and importers to ensure that the weight and volume of packaging are minimised, except for protected packaging designs (provided that this protection was already in force by the date of entry into force of the regulation). Re-use targets and re-fill obligations The text sets new binding re-use targets for 2030 and indicative targets for 2040. The targets vary depending on the type of packaging used by operators: alcoholic and non‑alcoholic beverages (excluding wine and aromatised wines, milk and other highly perishable beverages), transport and sales packaging (excluding packaging used for dangerous goods or large-scale equipment and flexible packaging in direct contact with food) and grouped packaging. Cardboard packaging is also generally exempted from those requirements. The agreement introduces a general renewable five-year derogation from the attainment of the re-use targets under specific conditions, including that: the exempting member state exceeds by 5 percentage points the recycling targets to be achieved by 2025 and is expected to exceed by 5 percentage points the 2030 recycling targets the exempting member state is on track to achieve its waste prevention targets the operators have adopted a corporate waste prevention and recycling plan that contribute to achieving the waste prevention and recycling objectives set out in the regulation The new rules also exempt micro-enterprises from attaining those targets and introduce the possibility for economic operators to form pools of up five final distributors to meet the re-use targets on beverages. The co-legislators laid down an obligation for take-away businesses to offer customers the possibility of bringing their own containers to be filled with cold or hot beverages or ready-prepared food, at no additional charge. Additionally, by 2030, take-away activities must offer 10% of products in packaging formats suitable for re-use. Deposit return systems (DRS) Under the new rules, by 2029, member states must ensure the separate collection of at least 90% per annum of single-use plastic bottles and metal beverage containers. To achieve that target, they are required to set up deposit return systems (DRSs) for those packaging formats. The minimum requirements for DRS will not apply to systems already in place before the entry into force of the regulation, if the systems in question achieve the 90% target by 2029. The co-legislators agreed to add an exemption from the requirement to introduce a DRS for member states if they reach a separate collection rate of above 80% in 2026 and if they submit an implementation plan with a strategy for achieving the overarching 90% separate collection target. Restrictions on certain packaging formats The new rules introduce restrictions on certain packaging formats, including single-use plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables, for food and beverages, condiments, sauces within the HORECA sector, for small cosmetic and toiletry products used in the accommodation sector (e.g. shampoo or body lotion bottles), and for very lightweight plastic bags (e.g. those offered at markets for bulk groceries).

Meetings Monday 4 March 2024

● Council of the EU   04/03/2024 19:41 | MEETING | Main results - Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council (Energy), 4 March 2024   EU energy ministers addressed the state of play in terms of security of supply and preparations for winter 2024-2025. They seeked political agreement on Council recommendation on continuing coordinated demand-reduction measures for gas.

Meetings Monday 4 March 2024

● Council of the EU   04/03/2024 19:18 | MEETING | Main results - Justice and Home Affairs Council, 4-5 March 2024   Ministers of the interior met in Brussels on day one of the Justice and Home Affairs Council. They discussed drug trafficking and organised crime as well as the EU’s security situation in light of the conflict in the Middle East and Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Also on the agenda was the external dimension of migration.

Meetings Monday 4 March 2024

● Council of the EU   04/03/2024 16:32 | MEETING | Agenda highlights - Competitiveness Council (Internal market and industry), 7 March 2024   Ministers responsible for the internal market and industry will meet in Brussels and will hold an orientation debate on the late payment regulation, a discussion on the content of the 2024 annual single market and competitiveness report, and during an informal lunch exchange views on the future of EU’s industrial policy. Ministers will be also informed on the progress of different legislative proposals, on the European program for tourism 2030, on the updated strategy for the maritime sector at the EU level, on the role of state aid in competitiveness, and security of supply of medicines.

Συνεδριάσεις Δευτέρα 4 Μαρτίου 2024

● Συμβούλιο της ΕΕ   04/03/2024 16:32 | ΣΥΝΕΔΡΊΑΣΗ | Κύρια σημεία της ημερήσιας διάταξης - Συμβούλιο Ανταγωνιστικότητας (Εσωτερική Αγορά και Βιομηχανία), 7 Μαρτίου 2024   Οι αρμόδιοι για την εσωτερική αγορά και τη βιομηχανία υπουργοί θα συνεδριάσουν στις Βρυξέλλες και θα πραγματοποιήσουν συζήτηση προσανατολισμού σχετικά με τον κανονισμό για τις καθυστερήσεις πληρωμών, καθώς και συζήτηση σχετικά με το περιεχόμενο της ετήσιας έκθεσης για το έτος 2024 σχετικά με την ενιαία αγορά και την ανταγωνιστικότητα. Κατά τη διάρκεια άτυπου γεύματος, οι υπουργοί θα ανταλλάξουν απόψεις για το μέλλον της βιομηχανικής πολιτικής της ΕΕ. Οι υπουργοί θα ενημερωθούν επίσης για την πρόοδο των διαφόρων νομοθετικών προτάσεων, το ευρωπαϊκό πρόγραμμα για τον τουρισμό 2030, την επικαιροποιημένη θαλάσσια στρατηγική σε επίπεδο ΕΕ, τον ρόλο των κρατικών ενισχύσεων στην ανταγωνιστικότητα, και την ασφάλεια του εφοδιασμού με φάρμακα.

Press material Monday 4 March 2024

● Council of the EU   04/03/2024 15:34 | Press release | Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): Statement by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the escalation of hostilities in the eastern part of the country   The EU is extremely concerned by the escalation of violence in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the worsening of the humanitarian situation exposing millions of people to human rights abuses including displacement, deprivation, and gender based violence. The military build-up as well as the use of advanced ground to air missiles and drones is a worrying escalation that further endangers the situation, in particular around Sake and Goma. The EU reaffirms its steadfast support to the Luanda and Nairobi processes. There is no military solution to this crisis, only a political one: this must be reached through an inclusive dialogue between DRC and Rwanda to address the root causes of conflict, aimed at implementing the decisions taken within the regional peace initiatives and ensuring the respect of the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of all the countries in the region. Existing roadmaps must be implemented; existing verification mechanisms must be reactivated. The EU condemns the latest offensive by M23 and reiterates its strong condemnation of the actions by armed groups in eastern DRC. These groups must cease all hostilities, withdraw from the areas they occupy and disarm in accordance with the decisions taken within the Luanda and Nairobi processes. The EU underscores the obligation for all States to stop any support to these armed groups. In particular the EU condemns Rwanda’s support for M23 and military presence on Congolese territory. It strongly urges Rwanda to immediately withdraw all its military personnel from the DRC as well as to terminate all support to and cooperation with M23. It strongly urges the DRC and all regional players to terminate all support to and cooperation with the FDLR, who have their roots in the genocide against the Tutsi, and any other armed group. All parties must do their utmost to protect civilians, prevent violations of international law and ensure safe and unhindered access for humanitarian assistance to all those in need immediately and without preconditions. The EU reiterates in unequivocal terms its condemnation of hate speech and xenophobia, as well as ethnic-based politics. The EU urges all political and civil society actors to contribute to a peace-oriented dialogue and refrain from escalation. The EU calls upon all sides to refrain from confrontational and inflammatory rhetoric including threats of military escalation. The EU remains committed to support peace, stabilisation and sustainable development of Eastern DRC and the region as a whole. This includes addressing all the root causes of insecurity and regional instability including poor governance and corruption, lack of inclusive institutions, entrenched impunity and abuse of power, and violent competition for access to and control of land and other natural resources as well as the use of illicit networks for the trafficking of natural resources. The EU condemns the recent attacks as well as the dis- and misinformation targeting some EU Embassies and MONUSCO. The EU underscores the legal responsibility of all states to protect the security of foreign citizens, as well as of the personnel and assets of diplomatic missions. Press material Monday 4 March 2024   ● Council of the EU   04/03/2024 13:00 | Press release | Security of gas supply: member states agree on recommendation to continue voluntary demand reduction measures   Today, the Council has reached a political agreement on a recommendation to continue coordinated demand-reduction. Although security of supply in the EU has improved, continued demand reduction is still needed to secure sufficient gas storage for next winter. Security of supply for next winter The supply situation in the EU has significantly improved since 2022. This has been made possible thanks to, inter alia, gas demand reduction measures that member states took on the basis of the gas demand reduction regulation. The latter was adopted as an emergency instrument in 2022, in response to the energy crisis caused by Russia’s war of aggression. In March 2023, it was prolonged until the end of March 2024, in order to ensure continuity of supply security and contain price volatility. Despite the overal improvement of the supply situation, however, according to the latest Commission’s reports, the situation on the global gas markets remains tight. Therefore, as the demand reduction regulation is about to expire, member states want to remain prepared for any possible gas disruption. In order to achieve that, EU collective storages must remain at a sufficiently high level throughout the winter. "We have come a long way since 2022 through adopting coordinated measures in the EU and responding swiftly to the energy crisis caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The political agreement reached today shows our commitment to remain prepared against any supply disruptions and to guarantee a safe winter for our citizens and industries." Tinne Van der Straeten, Belgian Minister for Energy Extended period for voluntary demand reduction Thanks to the political agreement achieved today in the Council, member states are encouraged to continue reducing their gas consumption until 31 March 2025, by at least 15 % compared to their average gas consumption in the period from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2022. This recommendation will help member states to take adequate supply security measures until the transposition of the directives on energy efficiency and renewables in 2025, which will both bring structural demand reduction in the near future, while achieving EU’s decarbonisation goals. The recommendation acknowledges specific circumstances, such as desynchronisation, isolated systems and limited interconnection capacity. It also recommends maintaining other existing measures under the demand reduction regulation, such as monitoring and reporting of the gas demand reduction per sector and informing the Commission in case new measures are adopted. Next steps Today’s political agreement will need to be formally adopted by the Council; adoption of the recommendation is expected to take place later in March 2024. Member states agree to extend voluntary 15% gas demand reduction target (press release, 28 March 2023) Council adopts regulation on reducing gas demand by 15% this winter (press release, 5 August 2022) Energy prices and security of supply (background information) The energy leap: How EU countries weathered a Russia-induced crisis and are reshaping energy supply (feature story) What is a recommendation? (background information)

Meetings Tuesday 5 March 2024

● Council of the EU   05/03/2024 09:30 | MEETING | Competitiveness Council (Internal market and industry), 7 March 2024   Background brief - Competitiveness Council (Internal market and industry) of 7 March 2024

Press material Tuesday 5 March 2024

● Eurogroup   05/03/2024 09:18 | Media advisory | Press briefing - Eurogroup meeting of 11 March 2024   The press briefing ahead of the Eurogroup meeting will take place on Thursday, 7 March at 10.00. The briefing will be "off the record" and will be given by Tuomas Saarenheimo, President of the Eurogroup Working Group. The press briefing will take place in a hybrid format: EU accredited journalists will be able to participate and ask questions either remotely or in person at the Europa building press room. If you haven't registered for one of the previous Eurogroup press events, please use this link to do so and have the possibility to ask questions remotely. Deadline for registration: Thursday, 7 March 2024, 09.00 Further instructions will be sent to all registered participants shortly after the deadline.