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Press material Wednesday, 16 April 2025

● Council of the EU   16/04/2025 11:49 | Press release | Investment simplification: Council agrees position on the ‘Invest EU’ regulation to boost EU competitiveness   Member states’ representatives (Coreper) approved today the Council’s position (‘negotiating mandate’) on one of the Commission’s proposals to simplify EU rules and thus boost EU competitiveness. This proposal aims to increase the EU's investment capacity to mobilise around €50 billion in additional public and private investments in support of certain EU policies, notably related to the Competitiveness Compass, the Clean Industrial Deal, defence industrial policy and military mobility. The proposed changes further seek to make it easier for Member States to contribute to the ‘Invest EU’ programme and simplify administrative requirements. “Simplification of existing legislation is indispensable for boosting EU competitiveness. In the turbulent times we are living, today’s agreement in the Council is a first step towards unlocking additional investment opportunities that will certainly strengthen our economic position in the global arena.” — Adam Szłapka, Minister for the European Union of Poland The proposal forms part of the ‘Omnibus’ packages adopted by the Commission at the end of February 2025 with a view to simplifying existing legislation in the field of sustainability and EU investments. This proposal amends the ‘Invest EU’ regulation to help mobilise around €50 billion of investments by increasing the size of the EU guarantee and facilitating the combined use of the ‘Invest EU’ guarantee with existing capacity available under three legacy programmes: the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI), the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) debt instrument and the so-called ‘InnovFin debt facility’, an initiative launched by the EIB group in support of research and innovation. Moreover, the proposal increases the attractiveness of the ‘Invest EU’ member state compartment and reduces the administrative burden caused by reporting requirements, especially for SMEs. Next steps Following today’s approval of the Council’s negotiating mandate by Coreper, the presidency is enabled to enter interinstitutional negotiations (trilogues) with a view to reaching a provisional agreement with the European Parliament on this proposal. Background In October 2024, the European Council called on all EU institutions, Member States and stakeholders, as a matter of priority, to take work forward, notably in response to the challenges identified in the reports by Enrico Letta (‘Much more than a market’) and Mario Draghi (‘The future of European competitiveness’). The Budapest declaration of 8 November 2024 subsequently called for ‘launching a simplification revolution’, by ensuring a clear, simple and smart regulatory framework for businesses and drastically reducing administrative, regulatory and reporting burdens, in particular for SMEs. On 26 February 2025, as a follow-up to EU leaders’ call, the Commission put forward the above proposal, as one of two ‘Omnibus’ packages, aiming to simplify existing legislation in the field of EU investment programmes. On 20 March 2025, EU leaders urged the co-legislators to take work forward on the first two Omnibus packages as a matter of priority and with a high level of ambition, with a view to finalising them as soon as possible in 2025. The proposal intends to improve the ‘Invest EU’ programme by increasing the EU guarantee by €2.5 billion (from €26.2 billion to €28.6 billion) and by enhancing the combination of available support from the EU budget with the ‘Invest EU’ programme and its three legacy programmes: the EFSI, the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) debt instrument and the so-called 'InnovFin' debt facility, an initiative launched by the EIB group in support of research and innovation. Each of the two measures is expected to mobilise €25 billion of additional public and private investments. Furthermore, the proposal aims to increase the attractiveness of the ‘Invest EU’ member state compartment, which focuses on specific national priorities. The proposal also aims to reduce the administrative burden of implementing partners, financial intermediaries and final recipients, with an estimated cost saving of €350 million. In particular, the proposal revises the definition of SME and reduces the number of indicators on which implementing partners will need to report for small-size operations not exceeding €100,000. It also reduces the frequency of reporting obligations from implementing partners, going from semi-annual to annual reporting. Regulation as regards increasing the efficiency of the EU guarantee under Regulation (EU) 2021/523 and simplifying reporting requirements, Commission proposal, 26 February 2025 Invest EU programme, Commission background information

16/04/2025 | Article Historic meeting of EU Ministers for Equality in Warsaw An informal meeting of EU Ministers on the subject of equality was held on Wednesday, 16 April. For several hours, the capital city of Poland was the place of discussions on gender equality and the challenges related to artificial intelligence, disinformation and equality policies at the European level. 15/04/2025 | Article EU Ministers Discuss the Future of the Labour Market in Europe Ministers of employment and social policy discussed key challenges facing the labour market and social policy across Europe.   Visit the website

● Council of the EU

14/04/2025 20:41 | Meetings | Main results - Foreign Affairs Council, 14 April 2025   The Foreign Affairs Council exchanged views on the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East including Syria, EU-Africa relations and Western Balkans. ● Council of the EU   14/04/2025 14:01 | Press release | Passenger name record data: Council concludes EU-Canada agreement   Today, the Council adopted a decision which formally concludes an agreement between the EU and Canada on the transfer and use of passenger name record (PNR) data. The agreement sets out the conditions for the transfer of PNR data from the EU to Canada for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences or serious transnational crimes. Passenger name record (PNR) data is data collected by air carriers based on the information passengers provide when booking. It includes data such as the name of the passenger, travel dates, itineraries, seat number, baggage, contact details or means of payment. PNR data can be key in the fight against terrorism and serious transnational crime, as its analysis can help identify criminal patterns. Privacy and data protection The agreement includes important privacy and data protection safeguards, demonstrating a commitment to both security and fundamental rights. The agreement for instance excludes the processing of sensitive PNR data, such as information that reveals racial or ethnic origin or political opinions. It also foresees transparency measures vis-à-vis the passengers. Independent public authorities will be tasked with overseeing that data protections safeguards are being kept. Next steps The agreement will enter into force when the EU and Canada have notified each other of the completion of their internal procedures. The EU’s internal procedure will be completed with today’s Council decision. Background The negotiations for the agreement started in 2018. The European Union and Canada signed the agreement in October 2024. The European Parliament gave its content in March 2025. In the EU, the PNR directive from 2016 regulates the transfer from the airlines to EU member states authorities of PNR data of passengers of international flights. The directive also sets standards for the purposes for which PNR data can be processed. Passenger information (background information) ● Council of the EU   14/04/2025 20:06 | Press release | Accession Conference with Albania: EU opens negotiations on the internal market cluster   The fourth meeting of the Accession Conference with Albania at ministerial level was held today in Luxembourg. The European Union delegation was led by Mr Radosław Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with the participation of Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos. The Albanian delegation was led by Mr Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania. “Today, we held the first Intergovernmental Conference with one of the candidate countries under the Polish presidency. EU enlargement remains at the core of our priorities. This concrete progress reflects our strong commitment towards our partners in the Western Balkans, a region which is key for the stability and security of the European Union.” — Radosław Sikorski, Minister of Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union The meeting served to open negotiations with Albania on Cluster 2: Internal market, including the following negotiating chapters: Chapter 1 - Free movement of goods, Chapter 2 - Freedom of movement of workers, Chapter 3 - Right of establishment and freedom to provide services, Chapter 4 - Free movement of capital, Chapter 6 - Company law, Chapter 7 - Intellectual property law, Chapter 8 - Competition policy, Chapter 9 - Financial services, Chapter 28 - Consumer and health protection The EU also set benchmarks for the provisional closure of these chapters. This follows the opening of the first cluster on ‘Fundamentals’ and of the sixth cluster on ‘External relations’ at the Accession Conferences with Albania held on 15 October and 17 December 2024, respectively. Monitoring of progress in the alignment with and implementation of the EU acquis and relevant European standards will continue throughout the negotiations. The Accession Conference will return to this cluster at an appropriate moment. Background Following the introduction of the revised methodology for the accession negotiations in 2020, negotiating chapters are divided in six thematic clusters: Fundamentals Internal market Competitiveness and inclusive growth Green agenda and sustainable connectivity Resources, agriculture and cohesion External relations Negotiations on the Fundamentals cluster are the first to be opened and the last to be closed, and progress under this cluster will determine the overall pace of negotiations. EU common position on Cluster 2 : Internal market EU common position on Cluster 6: External relations First meeting of the Accession Conference with Albania, 19 July 2022 Second meeting of the Accession Conference with Albania, 15 October 2024 Third meeting of the Accession Conference with Albania, 17 December 2024 Albania (background information) ● Council of the EU   14/04/2025 12:21 | Press release | Arms export control: Council reviews EU framework strengthening the control and accountability of international arms trade   The Council has concluded today the review of the EU framework for arms export control, by adopting a decision amending the Council’s Common Position defining common rules governing the control of exports of military technology and equipment, and approving conclusions on the matter. The Council conclusions on arms export control reaffirm the EU’s commitment to responsible and transparent trade in arms, to preventing diversion of arms to unintended use by terrorists, criminals and other unauthorised users, and to building convergence of national arms export policies of member states within the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy. The Council expresses commitment to continuing the EU’s efforts to promote the universalisation and effective implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and calls upon the states that have not yet done so, to accede to or ratify the ATT. The conclusions also set the agenda for work in the Council in the coming years on elements supporting responsible trade in military technology and equipment, such as tracing of equipment, end-user verification and monitoring, facilitating exports of equipment jointly developed in the EU, or controls of intangible technology transfers and supporting joint capacity building. The updated User’s Guide for licensing officers in member states was also adopted as a part of this review. Background EU arms deliveries to Ukraine were one of the factors to drive this review, together with the need to facilitate exports of military equipment jointly developed by member states, or the need to reflect the progress within the Arms Trade Treaty. The Council regularly updates its rules on arms export control. This review is a follow-up to the Council conclusions from 16 September 2019 accompanying the review of the Council Common Position, while the present conclusions set the timeframe for the next review to conclude in 2030. Conclusions on arms export control, 14 April 2025 Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Arms Export Control | EEAS