COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,update

 

Press material Monday, 14 July 2025

● European Council   14/07/2025 11:38 | Press release | Joint press release: EU and Armenia reaffirm and advance their partnership during a Leaders’ meeting   Today in Brussels, European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to reaffirm and advance the growing partnership between the European Union and Armenia. President Costa and President von der Leyen welcomed Armenia's ambitious reform agenda and expressed their support for Armenia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democratic reforms.  During the meeting, the leaders welcomed the recent political agreement on the text of the EU-Armenia New Partnership Agenda, a key milestone in their shared commitment to deepening ties. They also noted with satisfaction the progress in the visa liberalisation process and Armenia’s recent law 'On the Launch of the process of European integration'. The EU reaffirmed its strong commitment to supporting Armenia's resilience and long-term development through substantial financial and technical assistance. Under the Global Gateway strategy, EU investments in Armenia are now expected to reach €2.5 billion, fostering inclusive growth and connectivity. The €270 million Resilience and Growth Plan, announced in April 2024, boosted EU funding to Armenia by 50%. With €200 million in grant assistance and €70 million in grant funding to leverage investments, it continues to support Armenia’s socio-economic reform agenda, closer sectoral cooperation, and investments in energy, transport, and the private sector.    In this context, the EU reaffirmed its support for Armenia’s Crossroads of Peace initiative, to promote regional connectivity and reconciliation. President Costa and President von der Leyen also acknowledged Armenia’s ongoing efforts to promote stability in the South Caucasus, particularly through continued engagement in peace talks with Azerbaijan and steps towards the normalisation of relations with Türkiye. The leaders also underlined the importance of the possibility to include Armenia in the European Union’s regional and economic initiatives, particularly within the framework of the Black Sea Strategy.    Furthermore, President Costa and President von der Leyen thanked Armenia for its close cooperation and the steps taken in preventing sanctions circumvention. Together with Prime Minister Pashinyan, they agreed to continue collective efforts to that end.   Security cooperation featured prominently in the discussions. The leaders welcomed the launch of EU-Armenia Security and Defence consultations, underscoring their shared commitment to peace, stability, and democratic resilience. Addressing a range of security concerns, including foreign information manipulation and interference, disinformation, and cyber threats, the EU proposed to work together with Armenia to assess its needs, identify priority areas for cooperation, and leverage available EU instruments. To support Armenia’s information ecosystem, the EU announced a new €1.5 million envelope to strengthen independent media. EU leaders welcomed that Armenia will host the European Political Community Summit and the 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.     Finally, the leaders concluded that today’s meeting represents an important step in EU-Armenia relations and called for continued progress at the next EU-Armenia Partnership Council this autumn.   Visit the website

● General Secretariat of the Council

New shelves, new stories : highlights from the library open day   The Council Library has been refurbished, with improved spaces and a new shelving system to make browsing easier. We recently celebrated with an Open Day. Catch up on the highlights and see what’s new….   Read full post ● Council of the EU   14/07/2025 18:49 | Press release | EU – Central America Association Council, 14 July 2025 - Joint Communiqué   The European Union (EU) and the six Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama met in Brussels on 14 July 2025 for an historical first EU-Central America Association Council in the framework of the Association Agreement between Central America and the European Union that entered into force on 1 May 2024. This first Ministerial meeting, chaired on the European side by High Representative/Vice President of the Commission Kaja Kallas and by H.E. Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, which is holding the rotating Presidency of the EU Council, with the participation of H.E. Arnoldo André Tinoco, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Costa Rica, H.E. Alexandra Hill Tinoco, Minister of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador, H.E. Carlos Ramiro Martínez Alvarado, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, H.E. Gerardo Torres Zelaya, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Honduras, Erwin Ramírez Colindres, Vice-Minister of Development, Industry and Trade of Nicaragua, H.E. Javier Eduardo Martínez-Acha Vásquez, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama, marked an important milestone in strengthening the bi-regional relationship. The meeting presented an opportunity to exchange views on global challenges that affect both regions, including the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape and on-going wars, conflicts and crises, as well as the state of our regional cooperation, investment and trade agendas. The meeting also served to agree on how to shape the way forward of this bi-regional dialogue. In order to ensure that the bi-regional partnership remains anchored to the shared values and interests it is founded upon, and to the strong economic, social and cultural ties between the two regions, the parties agreed on the importance of enhanced dialogue to better face the multiple challenges. The parties confirmed the importance of Central American integration, based on the values of peace, democracy and inclusive economic development. While being transparent on the different circumstances of the two regions as well on the existence of different positions on specific issues, the parties also underscored the importance of upholding the principles and objectives of the UN Charter, commitment to multilateralism and international cooperation, the rules-based international order, including sovereignty and territorial integrity, the rule of law as well as the protection and respect of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. They also agreed to seek common ground in dealing with geo-political challenges and to join forces to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and of environmental degradation, to protect oceans and support ocean governance, and intensify cooperation in areas such as security, the fight against organised crime and trafficking in drugs, firearms and illicit environmental commodities, trafficking in human beings, and migration.  The 2030 Agenda should remain the reference of cooperation efforts, seeking an effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a special focus on social and economic inclusion, climate change and biodiversity loss, food and energy security, organised crime, migration, health and digitalisation. The parties valued the contribution of the Global Gateway Investment Agenda, which aims at addressing investment gaps in line with the shared priorities of the EU and of Central America. This Agenda seeks to mobilise private capital and public funding to bridge investment gaps in strategic areas that are essential to contribute to progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in areas such as education and capacity building, health infrastructures, energy production, environment protection, digital transformation, and local value chains. Investment and innovative modalities for cooperation fostering closer integration in clean energy, supply chains, and secure digital connectivity were considered key in this context. In this respect, the parties stressed the importance of the further development of the Central American Regional Electricity Market as a tool for growth and a driver of regional integration, including by connecting and complementing the existing energy cooperation frameworks. In the area of trade, the parties noted with satisfaction that after twelve years of application of the trade pillar of the Agreement, the trade volume had increased considerably between the two regions. The EU is Central America’s third largest trading partner and the annual volume of trade between the two regions grew from €8.7 billion in 2012 to €22 billion in 2023, with a remarkable transition to highly innovative products in the region’s exportable offer. The EU is a key export market for agricultural goods for Central America corresponding to up to 90% in value of their exports for some countries. Agri-food trade flows have also proved to be very resilient to external shocks. The parties agreed to further strengthen and develop trade and investment relations in order to fully exploit the potential offered by the Association Agreement. Recognising the common strategic interest of regular engagement between the EU and Central America, the parties agreed to convene Association Committees and Cooperation Subcommittees feeding into the next Association Council, which shall take place in the Central American region in 2027. The importance of people-to-people contacts, involving business and civil society at large to accompany the implementation of the Association Agreements was also underlined. Brussels, 14 July 2025     Visit the website ● Council of the EU   14/07/2025 17:05 | Meetings | Main results - Foreign Affairs Council (Trade), 14 July 2025   Ministers exchanged views on the current state of EU–US trade relations and the status of various trade agreements. They also held a policy debate on EU–China trade relations.   View meeting page ● Council of the EU   Career opportunities at the General Secretariat, 15/07/2025   Temporary agent (AST3) – Digital Archivist Reference: CONS/8/2025/TA-AST/COMM.2.C Closing date for applications: 25/08/2025 at 12:00 noon (CEST)   Visit the website