EUROGROUP,COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,update

 

Press material Tuesday, 14 January 2025

● Eurogroup   14/01/2025 10:49 | Media advisory | Press briefing - Eurogroup meeting of 20 January 2025   The press briefing ahead of the Eurogroup meeting will take place on Thursday, 16 January 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, 16 January at 09.00 Further instructions will be sent to all registered participants shortly after the deadline.

● European Council

13/01/2025 16:54 | Press release | Invitation letter by President António Costa to the members of the European Council   As I have already indicated to you, I would like to invite you to an informal retreat that will take place on 3 February in the Château de Limont, close to Brussels, dedicated to the topic of European defence. I believe we share a similar assessment of the threats Europe is facing. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has brought high-intensity war back to our continent - violating the core principles of international law and threatening European security – coupled with growing hybrid and cyber -attacks on Member States and their economies and societies. Peace in Europe depends on Ukraine winning a comprehensive, just and lasting peace. This geopolitical context, which is also marked by the situation in the Middle East, will remain challenging in the foreseeable future. The purpose of this meeting is to prepare the ground for the decisions we will have to take and to provide guidance to the Commission and the High Representative as they prepare a white paper on the future of European defence, which will cover joint defence initiatives and the resources necessary to develop them. As foreseen in the Leaders’ Agenda, my aim is to return to the subject of defence at the June 2025 European Council. I propose to base our discussion on two main principles. First, Europe needs to assume greater responsibility for its own defence. It needs to become more resilient, more efficient, more autonomous and a more reliable security and defence actor. In so doing, it will also become a stronger transatlantic partner, including in the context of NATO, in full respect of the security and defence policy of certain Member States and taking into account the security and defence interests of all Member States. In recent years, Member States have already increased their national defence spending. We know however that substantial additional defence investments are required in order to replenish stocks, upgrade our defence readiness for a broad spectrum of threats – focusing on strategic priorities and critical capability gaps – and strengthen the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base accordingly. Second, Member States will always be responsible for their armed forces. At the same time, we have a common interest in cooperating more closely at European level in order to maximise economies of scale and reduce costs, guarantee interoperability, ensure stable and long-term demand – so as to give more predictability to our industry – and prevent duplication. The level of investment, including in research and development, required to bolster our capacity is not affordable for individual Member States acting on their own. Moreover, effective defence is a ‘common good’ benefitting all Europeans. Increased defence investment must also contribute to reinforcing the overall economic competitiveness and cohesion of the European Union through an industrial sector capable of developing its technological excellence across the European Union and contributing to job creation. The goal of strengthening European defence should be taken into account in all relevant Union policies. In order to prepare the next steps, I would suggest to focus our discussion on the following issues: What should be – and how do we define – the defence capabilities that we need to develop in a collaborative way as a matter of priority, due to their importance to the EU´s collective security? Do we agree to spend more and better together? How can we accelerate the mobilisation of private financing, and through which EU instruments? How can we best use the EU budget, in the short, medium and long term? In the light of the considerable financing needs, what additional common options can be considered? How can we further strengthen and deepen existing partnerships? What should be our goals and priorities with non-EU European partners? I have invited the NATO Secretary General to join us for lunch. This will offer us a timely opportunity to discuss the most pressing defence-related issues, in particular our support for Ukraine, as well as EU-NATO cooperation. We will be joined by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom for a working dinner ahead of the EU-UK Summit that will take place later this year. This dinner will be the first time Prime Minister Starmer will meet with all 27 Leaders. The UK is a key partner for the European Union, notably in the field of defence. I expect the discussion to focus on that dimension of our relationship. As for the choreography, we will start our meeting at 11.00h with an exchange of views with the President of the European Parliament. We will then hold a first discussion at 27, followed by the lunch with Secretary General Rutte, a second session among ourselves and the dinner with Prime Minister Starmer. Finally, I would like to thank Prime Minister Tusk for the close cooperation in the preparation for this meeting. I look forward to our discussions on 3 February Invitation letter by President Costa ● Council of the EU   13/01/2025 20:31 | Press release | PESCO: Switzerland will be invited to participate in the ‘Military Mobility’ project   The Council adopted today a decision confirming that the participation of Switzerland in the PESCO project ‘Military Mobility’ meets the general conditions set out in Decision (CFSP) 2020/1639 of November 2020, and will bring substantial added value to the project. Today's decision authorises the Netherlands as project coordinator to formally invite Switzerland to join this PESCO project, in response to Switzerland’s request of September 2024. Once Switzerland completes an administrative agreement with the project, they will become formal members. The PESCO project ‘Military Mobility’ aims to simplify and standardise national cross-border military transport procedures. It enables the swift movement of military personnel and assets throughout the EU, be it via road, rail, sea, or air. Canada, Norway and the United States of America were invited to join the project in 2021, and in 2022, the United Kingdom was invited to join. Background The Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) is one of the pillars of EU Defence Policy. It provides a framework for defence cooperation among the 26 participating EU member states who have entered into more binding commitments between one another. They jointly develop defence capabilities, coordinate investments, enhance the operational readiness, interoperability and resilience of their armed forces, and collaborate in projects. On 5 November 2020, the Council adopted Decision (CFSP) 2020/1639 establishing the general conditions under which third states could exceptionally be invited to participate in individual PESCO projects. The countries applying must meet political, legal, and substantive conditions, including sharing the values on which the EU is founded and not contravene the security and defence interests of the EU and its member states. PESCO website