COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,update

 

Press material Wednesday, 10 June 2026

● Council of the EU   10/06/2026 11:31 | Media advisory | Press briefing - Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (Health) of 16 June 2026   The press briefing ahead of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (Health) will take place on Friday, 12 June 2026 at 15.30. This briefing will be "off the record". 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. To attend the event remotely, please use the link below to register and have the possibility to ask questions. Those who already registered for previous press events of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council do not need to do it again. Deadline for registration: Friday, 12 June 2026 at 14.30 Further instructions will be sent to all registered participants shortly after the deadline. Registration page Media accreditation for journalists   Visit the website

● Council of the EU

10/06/2026 11:16 | Press release | Simplification: Council and Parliament strike deal to boost EU defence industry and readiness   Today, the Council presidency and European Parliament’s negotiators reached a provisional agreement on new legislations aiming to simplify security and defence procurement, facilitate defence investments, and support the defence industry. The package aims to remove administrative delays in procurement, permitting, reporting and cross-border cooperation, giving member states and industry a clearer path to act quickly and reinforce Europe’s defence capacity. “With today’s agreement, we are simplifying rules for defence-related projects and providing greater support to Europe’s defence industry. This is an important deliverable on two key priorities of the Cyprus presidency: strengthening the EU’s defence readiness and competitiveness. For a strategically autonomous Eutope, defence readiness and competitiveness go hand in hand.” — Marilena Raouna, Deputy Minister for European Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus Defence readiness The provisional agreement simplifies the management and implementation of the European Defence Fund (EDF) and clarifies how the EU’s environmental and chemicals legislation apply to defence readiness activities. The provisionally agreed text simplifies the administrative requirements for applications to the EDF, while increasing support to SMEs and making implementation of the fund more predictable. It also preserves the possibility for European public bodies, such as the European Defence Agency, to function as central purchasing bodies. On the issue of access and user rights, the provisional agreement preserves the rights of co-financing member states to be granted access rights to the results of EDF-funded actions, while ensuring, at the same time, adequate protection for the intellectual property rights of industrial entities participating in the action. Moreover, the co-legislators agreed on additional incentives to reinforce the participation of SMEs in EDF projects, notably by increasing the funding rate bonus for projects involving SMEs. Finally, the provisional agreement reiterates the aim of providing a high level of protection of human health and the environment. It therefore retains the amendments proposed by the Commission to the environmental and chemicals legislation, regarding exemptions available for use of chemical substances for defence readiness purposes. Acceleration of permit granting procedures The provisional agreement provides a harmonised framework that accelerates permit-granting for defence readiness projects, while safeguarding member states competences. The maximum duration of the permit-granting process was set at 102 working days The provisional agreement retains the Commission proposal that a permit request would be tacitly approved if the competent authority has not taken a decision before the expiration of the time limit. At the same time, the provisional agreement ensures that derogations from tacit approval remain possible: national law will be able to provide for such derogations where there is a grave risk to human health or national security. Intra-EU transfers and security and defence procurement The provisional agreement removes administrative delays in security and defence procurement, facilitates transfers of defence-related products within the EU and strengthens intra-EU cooperation, giving member states and industry a clearer path to reinforce Europe’s defence readiness towards 2030. It further aligns the Commission proposal with the general public procurement rules wherever appropriate, while taking into account the specificities of the defence market. The provisional agreement increases the thresholds in the defence procurement directive to ease the administrative burden and give authorities more time to focus on the major defence projects that really matter. It also introduces the possibility of occasional joint procurement, a de minimis rule for contract modifications and enhanced flexibility in framework agreements.   Finally, the provisional agreement introduces two new mandatory general transfer licences: one for transfers between certified suppliers and certified recipients, and one for transfers in the framework of an intra-EU industrial partnership. Next steps The provisional agreement must now be endorsed by the Council and the European Parliament before being submitted to a legal/linguistic revision with a view to the formal adoption of the legislative acts by the co-legislators in the coming months. Background On 17 June 2025, the Commission adopted its fifth Omnibus package on defence readiness, comprising simplification proposals in defence-specific, as well as non-defence-specific legislation and programmes. The package includes proposals for two regulations and one directive, as well as drafts of delegated regulations aiming to facilitate defence investments and conditions for defence industry and simplify security and defence procurement. The defence readiness Omnibus reflects the priorities set out in the White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030. This initiative follows from a broader political objective of enhancing EU competitiveness, by reducing businesses’ administrative burdens and creating more favourable conditions for them to operate in the EU. Notably, on 6 March 2025, the European Council called on the Commission and the co-legislators to ‘swiftly take work forward on simplifying the legal and administrative framework, in particular for public procurement, industry cooperation, permitting and reporting requirements, in order to address all obstacles and bottlenecks hindering a rapid ramping up of the defence industry, including for SMEs and mid-caps’. Defence industry: Council agrees position on simplification package to boost Europe’s defence industry and readiness (press release, 26 November 2025) Directive on simplification of intra-EU transfers of defence-related products and the simplification of security and defence procurement, Commission proposal, 17 June 2025 Regulation on the acceleration of permit-granting for defence readiness projects, Commission proposal, 17 June 2025 Regulation on defence readiness and facilitating defence investments and conditions for defence industry, Commission proposal, 17 June 2025 Directive on intra-EU transfers of defence-related products and simplification of security and defence procurement – EU Law Tracker (timeline) Regulation on defence readiness and facilitating defence investments and conditions for defence industry – EU Law Tracker (timeline) Regulation on the acceleration of permit-granting for defence readiness projects – EU Law Tracker (timeline) Simplification of EU rules (background information) Boosting European defence expenditure (background information) EU defence in numbers (background information)   Visit the website

● Council of the EU

08/06/2026 16:18 | Press release | Council adopts conclusions on the EU maritime industrial strategy   The Council today adopted conclusions on the EU maritime industrial strategy, underlining the strategic importance of Europe's maritime manufacturing and shipping sectors for the European Union's competitiveness, resilience, economic security, defence readiness, prosperity and decarbonisation objectives. In the conclusions, member states recognise the maritime sector as a cornerstone of Europe's industrial base and stress its essential role in safeguarding supply chains, supporting the clean transition and strengthening the EU's technological leadership. They also acknowledge the diverse national, regional and local characteristics of maritime manufacturing and shipping industries across the Union and the different priorities of member states. “The conclusions on the maritime industrial strategy are a significant step forward in recognising the strategic importance and global excellence of Europe's maritime industry. They demonstrate our shared vision and commitment to maintaining a strong, innovative and sustainable maritime sector that drives economic growth, ensures vital connectivity, strengthens our common security and plays a crucial role in our decarbonisation efforts.” — Marina Hadjimanolis, Shipping Deputy Minister of the Republic of Cyprus The maritime industrial strategy is a structured action plan with the aim to strengthen Europe's maritime leadership by advancing high-tech shipbuilding and cutting-edge port equipment. The Council notes that the European maritime manufacturing and shipping industries face growing challenges, including intensifying global competition, geopolitical tensions, strategic dependencies on third-country production, the need to accelerate decarbonisation and persistent labour and skills shortages. The conclusions adopted today set out key priorities to address these challenges. Industrial sovereignty and competitiveness The Council highlights Europe's strengths in shipbuilding and design, ship repair, conversion, maintenance, retrofitting, recycling, maritime equipment and ocean engineering. These capabilities are considered essential for the EU's prosperity, technological leadership, strategic autonomy and long-term resilience. Member states express concern however about market distortions and unfair subsidisation practices by third countries that undermine fair competition. The Council therefore calls for an assessment of measures to strengthen the sector's competitiveness, including the effective use of existing trade defence instruments in line with international obligations. It also encourages investment aimed at reducing strategic dependencies and reinforcing critical industrial capacities. Investment and innovation The conclusions stress the importance of mobilising strategic investment across the maritime ecosystem, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. Member states support measures that accelerate the deployment of digital, clean and circular technologies, including artificial intelligence, advanced sensing technologies, automation, robotics and smart maintenance solutions. To expand Europe's capacity in advanced and low- and zero-emission vessels, the Council calls for increased investment in innovative shipbuilding technologies, clean propulsion systems and research and innovation. It also supports initiatives such as Shipyards of the future and the creation of an EU maritime industrial value chains alliance to help channel investment towards strategic priorities. Decarbonisation and sustainability The Council reaffirms the maritime sector's central role in achieving the EU's climate objectives and stresses that decarbonisation requires coordinated action across the entire waterborne value chain, including fuel producers and suppliers. Member states call for the timely and coordinated deployment of sustainable maritime fuels and innovative low-emission technologies. They underline that the availability of safe, sustainable and competitively priced alternative fuels will be critical to accelerating their uptake. The conclusions also recall the importance of using revenues generated under the EU emissions trading system (EU ETS) for climate-related purposes. At the same time, they highlight the need to assess potential adjustments to the FuelEU maritime regulation, the MRV regulation and the maritime ETS framework to avoid overlapping costs and unnecessary administrative burdens, in the event of the adoption of global measures to reduce GHG emissions from shipping. Security and resilience The Council warns that maritime security challenges are increasing, including risks linked to the operation of shadow fleets and growing geopolitical instability. Member states stress the need to strengthen the EU's resilience, preparedness and defence capabilities, including the protection of critical maritime infrastructure and the resilience of maritime supply chains. The conclusions also support a coordinated approach to developing dual-use infrastructure capable of serving both civilian and military purposes. Skills and workforce The Council notes that the maritime sector faces significant labour shortages, an ageing workforce and increasingly demanding working conditions, all of which affect its long-term competitiveness and resilience, and which was also the key objective of the Lefkosia declaration, which was adopted and signed by all member states at the informal TTE Council for maritime affairs held in Cyprus in April. Member states therefore call for strengthened maritime education and training, including upskilling and reskilling initiatives. The conclusions encourage measures to attract more young people to maritime professions and support the development of a coordinated European initiative on maritime skills. Background On 4 March 2026, the European Commission presented its communication on the EU maritime industrial strategy, setting out a vision and action plan to strengthen Europe's maritime manufacturing and shipping industries, enhance innovation and safeguard global competitiveness. Shipping and maritime industries are vital to the EU's economy and connectivity. The European maritime manufacturing sector is a global leader in complex and high-value shipbuilding, advanced maritime technologies and sustainable waterborne transport solutions. It is a key driver of innovation, regional industrial development and the blue economy. For example, 97% of the world's cruise ship fleet is built in Europe. The EU shipping sector is also a leading global provider of maritime transport services. It plays a critical role in securing supplies of essential goods, facilitating international trade and supporting Europe's energy security. Together with other waterborne sectors, it generates demand for maritime manufacturing products and services while shaping the technological development of the wider maritime ecosystem. Draft Council conclusions on the EU maritime industrial strategy Integrated maritime policy (background information) Commission launches Industrial Maritime Strategy for a competitive, sustainable and resilient EU maritime sector - Mobility and Transport (European Commission, press release)   Visit the website