Geopolitical Commission builds on International Partnerships
The journey of the new ‘Geopolitical Commission’ started in December 2019. We want Europe to be stronger in the world. President von der Leyen entrusted me with the role of Commissioner for International Partnerships in my mission letter, and asked me to ensure that the European model of development evolves in line with new global realities.
DG DEVCO, the service supporting my work as Commissioner, has now officially become DG International Partnerships (‘DG INTPA’). This is a timely and important moment. The new title, structure and mission statement gives DG INTPA a solid footing for contributing to the geopolitical ambitions of this Commission and supporting my work. It reflects the true change in paradigm towards equal partnerships.
In this ever changing, complex and competitive world, our generation is being tested by global calamities such as inequality, climate change and biodiversity loss, brought into sharper focus by COVID-19. Addressing these challenges alone is not an option.
Intervention du président Charles Michel lors du One Planet Summit Biodiversité
Merci pour cette initiative qui est essentielle, parce que mettre la biodiversité au cœur du projet, c'est effectivement veiller à ce que l'on travaille tous ensemble, dans la coopération internationale, pour protéger notre environnement et pour protéger collectivement notre santé. Voici quelques points simplement en ce qui me concerne.
Premier point: nous savons toutes et tous, et la COVID-19 l'a remis en lumière de manière brutale, quel est le lien entre la perte de biodiversité et le développement des zoonoses, et nous savons à quel point le trafic d'animaux ou le commerce d'animaux sauvages peut engendrer de grandes difficultés. Nous savons qu'il y a d'ailleurs, dans la nature, 1,6 million de virus non encore détectés, qui sont probablement liés à cette transmission entre l'espèce humaine et les animaux.
Le premier point que je vais faire touche donc à la forêt et à l'importance de ne pas perdre de vue que 30 % de la surface terrestre est couverte par des forêts, qui représentent 80 % de notre biodiversité. C'est pour cela qu'il y a un enjeu majeur. Je salue les initiatives françaises sur le sujet, mais aussi l'ensemble des pays qui sont également mobilisés pour travailler à des alliances afin de mobiliser une protection de la forêt et une gestion durable de la forêt.
Post-Cotonou: Negotiators reach a political deal on a new EU/Africa-Caribbean-Pacific Partnership Agreement
Today, the chief negotiators from the EU and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), formerly known as the ACP Group of States, reached a political deal on the text for a new Partnership Agreement that will succeed the Cotonou Agreement. The Agreement, which will have to be approved, signed and ratified by the parties, will cover a large number of areas, ranging from sustainable development and growth, to human rights and peace and security and will be geared to empower each region. Once in effect, the Agreement will serve as the new legal framework and guide political, economic and cooperation relations between the EU and 79 members of the OACPS for the next twenty years.
The EU and the members of the OACPS constitute an international force. Together, they represent over 1.5 billion people and more than half of the seats at the United Nations. With the new Agreement, EU and OACPS member countries will be better equipped to address the emerging needs and global challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, ocean governance, migration, peace and security issues.
EU agreement with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries at risk
Ahead of a meeting to conclude negotiations on the new EU partnership agreement (Post-Cotonou) with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP), the Chair of the Committee on Development, Tomas Tobé (EPP, SE) and Carlos Zorrinho (S&D, PT), Chair of Parliament’s ACP Delegation, told the Commission that the current negotiation draft is not acceptable. The two Chairs warned that Parliament would not give its consent to the new Post-Cotonou agreement if greater parliamentary scrutiny and democratic control were not included.
Quotes:
“We are sending a clear message to the Commission: a parliamentary dimension with a real consultative role for the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) as well as at a regional level is a non-negotiable condition for the European Parliament in order to give its consent to a new Agreement”, said (Tomas Tobé (EPP, Sweden), Chair of the Committee on Development.
Foreign Affairs Council Meeting, 7 December 2020
On this page you will soon find all the information related to this meeting:
- agenda highlights (a week before the meeting date)
- main results (after the meeting)
- press material
- photos, videos and live streaming
- related documentation
Updated content will be added in the run-up to as well as during and after the meeting.
Debt: the urgent need for a global recovery initiative
During Monday’s Foreign Affairs Council with Development Ministers, we focused on the growing levels of debt that emerging and developing countries are facing due to the economic impact of the pandemic. We must tackle this problem in the coming months to avoid a serious rise in global poverty and inequality.
The growing indebtedness of many poor and middle-income countries is worrying. Developed countries have been hit very hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the developing and emerging world have much less fiscal space to deal with its consequences and a much more difficult access to funding. Some of them have already defaulted on their external debt. If we are not able to deal rapidly with this debt issue, poverty and global instability are likely to increase. It could even fuel a new global financial crisis.
Debt relief efforts for African countries: Council approves conclusions
The EU is committed to furthering international debt relief efforts for African countries.
The Council today approved a set of conclusions in response to a call from the European Council of 15-16 October 2020 to prepare a common approach in this respect.
The conclusions highlight the increasing debt vulnerability in low income countries, particularly in Africa, and underscore the EU's support for a coordinated international approach on debt relief efforts for African countries.
The Council welcomes the G20 – Paris Club Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), which offers a temporary debt moratorium to the poorest countries to help them manage the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its extension until 30 June 2021 with the possibility of a further extension by 6 months. It commits to a full and transparent implementation of this initiative.
G20 Summit: G20 leaders united to address major global pandemic and economic challenges
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and President of the European Council, Charles Michel, represented the EU at the 15th G20 Leaders' summit hosted by Saudi Arabia on 21-22 November 2020.
G20 leaders met in virtual format to address the way forward how to tackle together the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, finance the development and deployment of a vaccine as well as continue the support to citizens and businesses struggling to cope with the aftermath of the pandemic.
President von der Leyen said: “I am glad that G20 leaders agreed to make Covid-19 vaccines available and affordable for all. But more funding is needed. This is why I called G20 Leaders to commit to fund 4.5 billion US dollars for the ACT-Accelerator by the end of the year. G20 leaders also agreed to maintain economic measures until the recovery is firmly on the way. As a lesson from the crisis we need to step up global preparedness. We will discuss this again in May 2021 at the joint G20 Global Health Summit in Italy. To build back a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient world we also need to step up actions to fight climate change. The EU leads the way to climate neutrality by 2050 and many G20 partners now have taken the same commitments.”
Next multiannual financial framework and recovery package: Council presidency reaches political agreement with the European Parliament
The German presidency of the Council today reached a political agreement with the European Parliament’s negotiators in talks aimed at securing the Parliament's consent to the next multiannual financial framework, the EU’s long-term budget.
The agreement has been reached following intensive consultations with the Parliament and the Commission that have been underway since the end of August. It complements the comprehensive financial package of €1 824.3 billion negotiated by EU leaders in July, which combines the next multiannual financial framework – €1 074.3 billion – and a €750 billion temporary recovery instrument, Next Generation EU (in 2018 prices).
"Our first duty is to safeguard our citizens"
On 12 November, President Charles Michel sent out the fourth issue of his newsletter, in which he informs citizens about the activities of the European Council. This time the President focuses on promoting our values and fighting terrorism.
There are two battles that must be fought. A battle of values, to defend and promote our freedoms... and a merciless operational battle against violent extremism, whether Islamist or otherwise.
President Charles Michel
The newsletter is issued on a regular basis in English and French. It is available to all users subscribed to European Council alerts. Every issue contains a summary of President Michel's latest activities.