COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,update

 

Meetings Monday, 18 November 2024

● Council of the EU   18/11/2024 19:42 | Meetings | Main results - Agriculture and Fisheries Council, 18 November 2024   During today's meeting, the Agriculture and Fisheries Council welcomed the Ukrainian Minister for Agrarian Policy and Food, Vitalii Koval, who presented information about the situation of the agricultural sector in Ukraine to his European counterparts. In the ensuing EU internal discussion, the Council took stock of the EU markets situation for agrifood products. Additionally, the Council held an initial exchange of views on two Commission proposals on fishing opportunities, namely one for fishing opportunities in the Atlantic and the North Sea for 2025 and, in the case of some stocks, also for 2026, and one for fishing opportunities for 2025 in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Today's debate will lay the groundwork for the December Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting, where ministers are expected to reach a political agreement on the two fisheries proposals.

Meetings Monday, 18 November 2024

● Council of the EU   18/11/2024 21:44 | Meetings | Main results - Foreign Affairs Council, 18 November 2024   The Foreign Affairs Council exchanged views on the Russian aggression against Ukraine and on Georgia. Over lunch the Council touched on EU-US relations. After that, the Council discussed the situation in the Middle East and in the Horn of Africa.

Council of the EU   18/11/2024 19:45 | Meetings | Foreign Affairs Council (Defence), 19 November 2024   Background brief - Foreign Affairs Council (Defence), 19 November 2024

• Council of the EU

­ 18/11/2024 | Press release | Council conclusions on Land Locked Developing Countries The Council approved conclusions on Land Locked Developing Countries stressing that the EU is committed to strengthening its partnership with them through cooperation and dialogue, technical assistance and support for capacity development.   Council conclusions on Land Locked Developing Countries (LLDCs), 18 November 2024

18/11/2024 11:03 | Press release | Cyberspace: Council approves declaration on a common understanding of application of international law in cyberspace   Today, the Council approved a declaration by the EU and its member states on a common understanding of the application of international law in cyberspace. The declaration signals that international law remains fit for purpose in this digital domain and reiterates that States must abide by certain rules and obligations when conducting activities in cyberspace. The declaration acknowledges that malicious behaviour in cyberspace, including ransomware, is increasing in scale, severity, sophistication, and impact, presenting a major challenge and threat to the functioning of European societies, economies, and way of life. However, cyberspace is not a lawless domain. The respect for and adherence to the UN framework of responsible State behaviour in cyberspace remain essential to maintaining international peace, security, and stability. The EU and its member states therefore reaffirm their full commitment to the implementation of the UN framework of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, adopted by consensus and repeated on several instances by the UN General Assembly (UNGA), which affirms inter alia that international law, particularly the UN Charter, international human rights law, and international humanitarian law, fully applies to cyberspace. The EU and its member states will continue working with international partners to establish one single, permanent, inclusive, regular, and action-oriented UN mechanism to implement and advance responsible state behaviour in cyberspace: the Programme of Action. With this declaration, the EU and its member states show that it is possible to reach a common understanding on a set of fundamental principles and rules of international law applicable to cyberspace. A better global common understanding of how international law applies to cyberspace contributes to enhanced global cyber resilience and further transparency and predictability of, and accountability for, states’ conduct in cyberspace. In that vein, the EU and its member states continue to support third countries through training and capacity building on the implementation of the UN framework of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, including on how to develop a national, regional, or international position on the application of international law to cyberspace. Background information It is the first time the EU and its member states adopt a declaration on this specific topic. The declaration follows the repeated UNGA endorsement of the framework of responsible state behaviour in cyberspace, grounded in the application of international law. The declaration is related to the efforts at UN level, specifically the ‘UN open-ended working group (OEWG)’ on the security of and in the use of information and communication technologies in 2021-2025, established by UNGA resolution UN A/RES/75/240 in 2021. On April 2024, EEAS presented to the Horizontal Working Party on Cyber Issues (HWPCI) a non-paper on the application of international law to cyberspace. In close cooperation with the Working Party on public international law (COJUR), HWPCI reached an agreement on the text of the declaration on 4 November 2024. The permanent representatives committee (COREPER) confirmed this agreement on 13 November 2024. UN open-ended working group (OEWG) on the security of and in the use of information and communication technologies in 2021-2025 UNGA resolution UN A/RES/75/240   18/11/2024 10:35 | Press release | Maritime safety: Council adopts new laws to support safe, clean and modern shipping in the EU   To support clean, safer, and modern shipping in the EU, today the Council adopted four new pieces of legislation of the so-called ‘maritime safety’ legislative package, namely those amending the relevant directives on: - the investigation of accidents in the maritime transport sector - ship-source pollution - compliance with flag state requirements, and -  port state control. The revised ‘package’ achieves a careful balance between, on the one hand, the need to ensure a high quality of shipping and, on the other, the need to safeguard the competitiveness of the European shipping sector, while also maintaining reasonable costs for operators and member states' administrations. Overall, it will equip the EU with modern tools to support clean shipping by aligning EU rules with international standards while improving implementation and enforcement through an enhanced cooperation framework between European and national authorities. Directive on accidents investigation The revised directive on investigation of accidents in the maritime sector: improves the protection of fishing vessels, their crews, and the environment, with fishing vessels less than 15 metres in length now included within the scope of the directive, meaning that accidents involving fatalities and loss of vessels will be investigated in a harmonised way clarifies the definitions and the legal provisions so that member states’ accident investigation bodies investigate all accidents that need to be investigated in a timely and harmonised manner enhances the capacity of accident investigation bodies to conduct and report on accident investigations in a timely, expert, and independent manner updates several definitions and references to relevant EU legislation and IMO regulations, to ensure clarity and consistency enables accident investigation bodies to conduct accident investigations in a harmonised way throughout the EU by making the existing rules clearer and more consistent with international regulations strengthens the provisions regarding the independence of accident investigation bodies and the confidentiality of their findings and reduces unnecessary administrative burdens. Directive on ship-source pollution The revised directive incorporates international standards into EU law, ensuring that those responsible for illegal discharges of polluting substances are subject to dissuasive, effective, and proportionate penalties to improve maritime safety and better protect the marine environment from pollution by ships. The revised law therefore: extends the scope of the current directive to cover illegal discharges of harmful substances in packaged form, sewage, garbage and discharged waters and residues from exhaust gas cleaning systems establishes a strengthened legal framework for administrative penalties and their effective application, enabling national authorities to ensure a dissuasive and consistent imposition of sanctions to ship-source pollution incidents in all European seas separates the administrative sanctions regime from the criminal sanctions’ regime enshrined in the new draft environmental crimes directive ensures clarity and coherence with international rules and procedures, particularly those of the international convention for the prevention of pollution from ships (MARPOL), in the interest of protection of the marine environment. Directive on compliance with flag state requirements The directive regulates the enforcement of rules applicable to flag state at the EU level. The responsibility for monitoring the compliance of ships with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) conventions lies with the state where the ship is registered and whose nationality the ship holds: the flag state. The revised directive therefore: updates the current legislation and aligns it with international rules, mainly regarding the IMO instruments implementation code (‘III code’) ensures adequate inspections of flagged ships and monitoring oversight of recognised organisations working on behalf of the flag state ensures a higher uptake of digital solutions ensures a harmonised approach in the understanding, reporting, and measuring of the performance of flag states’ fleets and duties. Directive on port state control Port state control (PSC) is a system of inspection of foreign ships in ports of states other than the flag state by PSC officers, to verify that the competency of the master, officers and crew on board, the condition of a ship, and its equipment comply with the requirements of international conventions and, in the EU, with applicable EU law. As such, PSC is important in ensuring maritime safety and in protecting the marine environment. The revised directive: updates EU legislation and aligns it with international rules and procedures as set out in the Paris memorandum of understanding (MoU) and IMO conventions, protects fishing vessels, their crews, and the environment, including by introducing a voluntary inspections regime for larger fishing vessels (more than 24 metres in length), ensures an efficient and harmonised approach to carrying out PSC inspections. Next steps Following their signature by the presidents of the Council and of the European parliament, all four legislative acts will be published in the EU’s Official Journal in the coming weeks and enter into force twenty days after this publication. Member states will have 30 months after the entry into force of the revised directives to transpose their provisions in their national legislation. Background information The four legislative proposals form part of the maritime safety ‘package’ together with the one on the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). They were submitted by the Commission on 1 June 2023 aiming to modernise EU rules on maritime safety and reduce water pollution from ships.  With 75% of the EU's external trade being seaborne, maritime transport is not only the artery of a globalised economy, but also a lifeline for the EU's islands and peripheral and remote maritime regions. Although maritime safety in EU waters is currently very high, with few fatalities and no recent major oil spills, more than 2,000 marine accidents and incidents are still reported every year. Provisional agreements between the co-legislators on the four legislative proposals were reached in February this year. Revised directive on the investigation of accidents in the maritime sector, 18 November 2024 Revised directive on ship-source pollution, 18 November 2024 Revised directive on flag state requirements, 18 November 2024 Revised directive on post state control, 18 November 2024 European green deal (background information) Maritime security (background information)   ● General Secretariat of the Council Think Tank Review - November 2024   The new European Commission priorities; a competitive European industrial policy; Europe’s 2040 climate target; a realigned EU strategy for stability in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean; and the Chinese military diplomacy in South Asia are some of the topics discussed in the Think Tank Review.   ● Council of the EU   18/11/2024 10:24 | Press release | European Union Solidarity Fund: Council agrees to €116 million in disaster relief aid for Germany and Italy   Today the Council agreed to mobilise the European Union Solidarity Fund to provide assistance to Germany and Italy relating to natural disasters occurred in 2024. The assistance will come from the EU’s 2024 budget. The amount of €112,071 million will be provided to Germany in relation to floods that occurred in in Southern Germany in May and June 2024. The amount of €3,959 million will be provided to Italy in relation to floods that occurred on 29 June 2024 in the Autonomous Region of Valle d’Aosta. Next steps In practice, once the decision has entered into force, the EU will transfer, in its 2024 budget, money from the European Solidarity Reserve to the so-called EU Solidarity Fund operational budget line, from where it can be paid to the countries that have applied for financial assistance after being struck by natural disasters. Background The EU Solidarity Fund is designed to provide financial assistance in the event of a major disaster in a member state or a country holding accession negotiations with the EU. Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mobilisation of the European Union Solidarity Fund to provide assistance to Germany and Italy How the EU responds to crises and builds resilience (background information)