COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,update

 

Press material Wednesday, 09 September 2026

● European Council   09/09/2026 14:31 | Statements and remarks | Press statement by President Costa following the meeting with Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk   Dear Prime Minister, dear Donald. First of all, thank you very much for your warm welcome here in Warsaw, and our very good talk as always.  It is essential for me to listen directly to you, in your capital, to understand your national priorities and expectations - and to properly prepare the upcoming meetings of the European Council. That is why I am now visiting the capitals of member states. It has special meaning to be here with you dear Donald. Your experience and wisdom give you a unique voice in the European Council. All of our colleagues trust you, and with you, Polish positions, concerns and initiatives are highly valued.  As a country on the European Union’s eastern flank, Poland stands at the forefront of the security challenges facing our continent - and plays a vital role in shaping Europe’s response to them. Our unwavering support for Ukraine matters: Ukraine is defending not only its own sovereignty, but Europe’s security. And Poland, as Ukraine’s neighbour and a key supporter of its defence, is playing a particularly important role in that effort. This is why strengthening our support for Ukraine must go hand in hand with strengthening our own collective preparedness and protecting our own borders. Russian threats highlight the need for Europe to ensure it has the capabilities to respond swiftly and effectively. We must continue our efforts to decisively strengthen Europe’s defence readiness and ensure that we are prepared by 2030. Today, I discussed with Prime Minister Tusk, how the European Union budget for the period 2028-2034 will need to better address these new challenges we are facing. We need a European budget that gives us the means to deliver on our common priorities. Defence and security are key areas - as are competitiveness, innovation and strategic resilience. At the same time, the budget must continue to support our agricultural and cohesion policies, both essential to Europe’s prosperity and development. Of course, like national budgets, the European Union budget must deliver on its priorities within the limits of finite resources. Most of it is financed through member states’ national contributions. And we need to keep those contributions within reasonable limits. That is why a substantial package of so-called new own resources, the new revenue streams for the European Union, will be an essential part of an overall agreement. One thing is clear: we cannot afford any delay. We must reach an agreement by the end of this year to ensure that EU support for our farmers, businesses, students, researchers and innovators continues without interruption in 2028. The responsibility is ours. We must now engage in the final stage of these negotiations with determination and a European spirit. And I know I can count on you, Donald, and on your great experience with difficult European negotiations. Beyond our future budget, we need to make our economy stronger. A competitive Europe is a crucial element of our strategic autonomy. And I think that Europe has a lot to learn from Poland’s economic success story.  Europe needs to create better conditions for European industries and businesses to innovate, thrive and grow. And better opportunities and quality jobs for our citizens. This is what the European Union’s “One Europe, One Market” agenda is all about. We need to accelerate its implementation. That agenda also focuses on affordable energy. This is fundamental for Europe’s competitiveness, especially for our industry. Ensuring affordable and competitive energy prices is key, both for our citizens and for our industry.  Therefore, we need to intensify our work to reduce energy costs, while pursuing our efforts on the clean transition and decarbonisation in a technology-neutral way – that means, nuclear or renewables. Also here, Poland’s performance has been very impressive, especially considering its historical legacy.  Europe’s strength lies in our unity. And Poland’s voice is an essential part of that strength. By bringing our efforts together, we can build a Union that is more secure, more competitive, and better prepared to meet the challenges of the future. Thank you very much.   Visit the website ● European Council   09/09/2026 19:26 | Statements and remarks | Press statement by President Costa following the meeting with Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz   Mr Chancellor, dear Friedrich, guten Abend. Let me begin by thanking you very much for your time and your warm welcome here in Berlin, and for the very useful exchange that we had today.  Meeting you in Berlin, as with every leader in their own capital, allows me to better understand each national perspective on our common challenges. It helps me and my team to prepare the upcoming European Council meetings. I am on a “Tour des Capitales” with many stops, but one single destination: our unity. Our unity matters now more than ever, as we face a stark new geopolitical reality, with attempts to intimidate and divide Europe.  Across our continent we have seen numerous “hybrid” activities and attacks – drones, sabotage, cut cables, attacks on infrastructure. And Germany has been at the front line of this new reality, with the attempted Russian drone attack at Leipzig and other recent foiled attempts. And I want to express here, dear Friedrich, once again, the European Union’s full solidarity with Germany. I am proud of Europe’s response. We have remained united – in solidarity with each other, most recently with Germany.  Russia must understand that these threats will not change the European Union’s position on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. They only strengthen our unity and our commitment to peace, and to the respect of international law.  It is time for Russia to end this war, not to escalate or extend it. And the European Union will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it is needed, during the war, in any negotiations, in reconstruction and on its path to the European Union.  Dear Friedrich, thank you for Germany’s historical investments in security and defence. Germany plays a fundamental part in Europe’s growing efforts to shoulder its own common defence – a collective effort that member states must pursue jointly. That is the best way to reach our common goal on new European defence readiness. This new geopolitical reality also requires us to accelerate our work for a safe, prosperous and competitive Europe.  That is why we need a new approach to our next long-term European budget, with a new structure and a new way of allocating our resources. More efficient, more focused on delivering results where it matters the most our collective defence and security, but also our competitiveness, innovation and resilience In a nutshell, a budget for the future. A budget that reinforces trust in Europe’s economy and security. A budget that addresses the concerns and expectations of our citizens.  Let me be clear – the budget we are discussing is not business as usual. Cohesion and agricultural policy remain essential for regional development and food security across our continent. But we need a modernised budget focused on: boosting our industry supporting our innovators protecting our citizens defending our borders In short, a budget that is fully aligned with and supportive of your government’s ambitious economic reform agenda.  As we do with each member state’s national budget, in deciding on our European budget, we must make choices. That means, just like in any budget, meeting our priorities within limited and finite resources. National contributions must be kept at a reasonable level. That is why it is so important to find an agreement on a realistic overall level of the budget. That is also why finding new ‘own resources’, new revenue streams for the European Union, will be an essential part of an overall agreement. And we need an agreement by the end of 2026, as you said. Indeed, in a world of instability and unpredictability, the European Union must remain a source of stability and responsibility. Our citizens, our companies, our farmers, our researchers need predictability. So, thank you, Friedrich, for your strong support for reaching an agreement this year. Our strategic autonomy depends on a competitive economy. To make our economy stronger, we need more than a modernised budget. We need to create the conditions for European industries and businesses to innovate, thrive, grow, and generate quality jobs for our citizens. The ‘One Europe, One Market’ agenda sets out an ambitious timeline to achieve decisive progress in 2026 and 2027 towards: simplifying our rules and cutting red tape completing the single market ensuring affordable energy supporting innovation, and reducing our strategic dependencies This work is under way; but we need to stay on track and even accelerate. To keep up the momentum, the European Council will return to competitiveness in October. And I want to thank you once again for your tireless efforts to push the competitiveness and simplification agenda forward at European level.  Dear Friedrich, I look forward to continuing our work together in the European Council. Thank you very much.   Visit the website ● General Secretariat of the Council   Think Tank reports on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine   Putin’s mobilization moment; the hard road to a modest peace with Russia after Ukraine; Ukraine strikes Russia’s central nervous system; the challenges facing Ukraine’s local government in wartime and the lessons Europe can draw from the Ukrainian power grid are some of the topics discussed in the present update.   Read full post Press service European Parliament   Available in         Press release 04-09-2026 LIBE   Ceuta: press conference by Civil Liberties Committee Chair and President Vivas     On Tuesday at 11.30, Civil Liberties Committee Chair Javier Zarzalejos will brief media on the situation in Ceuta, together with the President Mayor of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas. The European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee held an extraordinary meeting on 6 August 2026 to discuss the humanitarian and security situation in Ceuta, Spain, following massive migrant arrivals at the end of July, with the participation of Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner and Mr Vivas. When: Tuesday 8 September at 11.30 CEST Where: European Parliament in Brussels, Anna Politkovskaya room (SPAAK 0A50). Interpretation will be available in English, French and Spanish. How: Accredited media representatives are invited to attend the press briefing in person. Journalists wishing to ask questions remotely need to connect via Interactio (supported on iPad with Safari and Mac/Windows with Google Chrome). When connecting, enter your name and the media organisation you are representing in the first name/last name fields. For better sound quality, use headphones and a microphone. Interpretation is only possible for interventions with video. The press conference will also be webstreamed live and recorded on the Parliament’s Multimedia Centre. Further information  Statement by the Civil Liberties Committee Chair on the situation in Ceuta (31.7.2026)  Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs     Press release 10-09-2026 ENVI    ETS: MEPs want to keep the market stability reserve invalidation mechanism       Rather than ending the market stability reserve's invalidation mechanism, as the Commission proposed, MEPs want to keep it but raise the threshold in 2027 from 400 to 650 million allowances. By 43 votes for, 21 against and with 6 abstentions, Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety today adopted its report on the Commission’s proposal to amend the market stability reserve (MSR) for the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). Under the current rules, all allowances in the reserve above 400 million are invalidated. The Commission has proposed stopping the invalidation mechanism immediately, allowing illimited numbers of additional allowances to be kept as a buffer in the reserve, which could support market stability. To ensure an orderly functioning of the European carbon market and the MSR, increase long-term market predictability, and contribute to and align with the EU’s 2040 and 2050 climate targets, MEPs propose keeping the invalidation mechanism but raising its threshold next year from 400 to 650 million allowances. This would maintain a sufficiently large buffer to absorb supply and demand imbalances, while avoiding the possible excessive build-up of allowances in the reserve that could occur under the Commission’s proposal. MEPs suggest the increase of the MSR threshold take effect from 1 March 2027. Quote Rapporteur Pierfrancesco Maran (S&D, IT) said: “Today’s vote strikes the right balance between climate ambition and industrial competitiveness. Raising the invalidation threshold and setting a clear date for entry into force gives the MSR the necessary flexibility while safeguarding the EU ETS. The agreement supported by a broad majority sets the scene for the upcoming ETS revision, proving that ambitious climate and industrial policies can go hand in hand." Next steps Parliament is scheduled to adopt its mandate for negotiations with EU member states at the September 2026 plenary session. Background The MSR has been operational since 2019 to address the structural imbalance between the supply of and demand for allowances in the EU ETS. The MSR aligns the supply of emissions allowances in the ETS more closely with demand by reducing or increasing the total number of allowances in circulation to stabilise the market. There is also separate MSR for the EU emissions trading system for buildings, road transport and additional sectors (ETS2). In June 2026, MEPs made a deal with Council for a revision to cushion consumers against sharp price swings. Further information  Procedure file  Amendments and voting list  Free photos, video and audio material  Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety Press release 09-09-2026 IMCO   Public procurement: Internal Market committee chair welcomes move beyond price-only criteria     On Wednesday, the European Commission published a proposal to reform the Public Procurement Act and to streamline public authority spending. The chair of Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection committee, Anna Cavazzini (Greens/EFA, DE), welcomed the reform initiative. “Public procurement accounts for about 15% of the EU’s GDP. This means around €2 trillion in public spending on building roads, hospitals or providing meals in our kids’ school canteens. Using this money in a way that serves both citizens and companies, while also aligning with our policy goals is a no-brainer. Therefore, I welcome the Commission’s reform proposal. They listened to the European Parliament’s call to move away from the price-only mechanism and towards looking at the quality of the products and services purchased as well. However, the Commission could even have gone one step further to promote green and social initiatives. The introduction of a horizontal framework to allow public buyers to purchase products and services from European suppliers is also to be positively noted. Resilience and security of supply are aspects that should be considered to boost our competitiveness. Ensuring consistency with other pieces of legislation will be key. I explicitly welcome the planned digitalisation of procurement procedures. It can bring real simplification for municipalities and businesses alike. This was a clear demand of the Parliament in its own-initiative report last year, we hope to see it materialise at the end of the legislative process.” Background The new proposed regulation will replace several existing directives to make the rules directly applicable in all EU countries, thus streamlining rules more efficiently. Price will no longer be the sole determining factor in the choice of service provider or seller of goods. This reflects Parliament’s demand presented in the own-initiative report adopted last year, as well as the lesson that the cheapest solutions are often not viable in the longer term, are lacking in quality or come with higher ancillary costs. Instead of automatically choosing the cheapest offer, the regulation would oblige public authorities to take into account other factors as well, notably quality, environmental and social aspects, innovation and resilience. Additionally, the regulation will introduce a “made in Europe” dimension to tenders and promote digitalisation. Further information  Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection  European Commission press release on the publication of the proposal (9.9.2026)  Parliament’s own-initiative report on Parliament’s priorities for the public procurement framework reform (9.9.2025)