Wed. Sep 18th, 2024

EU Parliament background on the European Council of 27 and 28 June 2024

Jun 27, 2024

Brussels, 27 June 2024

The EU Parliament has gathered a selection of the European Parliament’s press releases reflecting MEPs’ priorities for topics on the summit agenda. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola will represent the European Parliament at the summit, where she will address the heads of state or government around 14.45 and hold a press conference after her speech.

At their meeting in Brussels, heads of state or government will continue discussions on the next institutional cycle, including the appointments to the EU’s top jobs. Russia’s war against Ukraine, the latest developments in the Middle East, security and defence issues, competitiveness and migration will also feature, among others, on the summit agenda.

European Elections

The European elections took place from 6 to 9 June. Provisional results are published on the European elections website and will be regularly updated until the constitutive session of Parliament’s tenth legislative term on 16-19 July in Strasbourg.

In order to “Europeanise” the elections and to boost the democratic legitimacy of EU decision-making, ahead of the 2014 European elections Parliament called on the European political parties to nominate candidates for the Presidency of the European Commission. The aim was to allow citizens to influence directly, through their vote in the European elections, the choice of the head of the European executive. Before this year’s European elections, Parliament confirmed the importance of applying the lead candidate mechanism (or “Spitzenkandidaten” system) and laid out its position for the upcoming elections in December 2023.

MEPs insist that a clear and credible link between the choice of voters and the position of the Commission President is necessary. They say that, based on the EU Treaties, this choice should depend on the candidate that secures majority support in Parliament and call on the European Council to end the practice of making deals behind closed doors.

Speaking at the informal EU summit on 17 June, EP President Roberta Metsola reiterated “the European Parliament’s full cooperation and strongest commitment to ensuring the smooth running of the process leading to the election of the President of the European Commission. In the European Parliament, our work has already started – and will continue – in that regard.”

She also stated that the election results “show a majority of our citizens have called for the defence of our values and for security to remain a top priority. Our support to Ukraine must continue. Everyone must benefit from the twin transitions. The green deal needs to be a driver of economic growth without burdens, bureaucracy and red tape. We need to move from being in ‘crisis mode’ to thinking long term, building on our greatest asset, the single market and prioritising the EU’s competitiveness. That is how we cement Europe’s place in the world.”

During the constitutive plenary session in Strasbourg, Parliament will elect its President, 14 Vice-Presidents and five Questors. MEPs will also decide on the number and size of Parliament’s standing committees and sub-committees and who will sit on them.

The final agenda for the session, with possible additions besides the election of Parliament’s leadership, will be adopted by Parliament’s Conference of Presidents (EP President and political group leaders) during their meeting on 11 July.

Further reading

Russia’s war against Ukraine

In a joint statement issued on 23 February, the Presidents of the EU institutions stressed that “the European Union will always support Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.

Russia and its leadership bear sole responsibility for this war and its global consequences, as well as for the serious crimes committed. We remain determined to hold them to account, including for the crime of aggression. (…)

The European Union will continue its strong and unwavering political, military, financial, economic, diplomatic and humanitarian support to help Ukraine defend itself, protect its people, its cities and its critical infrastructure, restore its territorial integrity, bring back the thousands of deported children, and bring the war to an end.

We will continue to address Ukraine’s pressing military and defence needs, including deliveries of urgently needed ammunition and missiles. (…) We are also working on future security commitments which will help Ukraine defend itself, resist destabilisation efforts and deter acts of aggression in the future.”

In a resolution adopted on 29 February, MEPs took stock of the two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Highlighting how the war has fundamentally changed the geopolitical situation in Europe and beyond, they say the main objective is for Ukraine to win the war, warning of serious consequences if that does not happen. MEPs say that other authoritarian regimes are watching how the conflict develops to assess their own leeway for enacting aggressive foreign policies.

For Kyiv to win the war, there should be “no self-imposed restriction on military assistance to Ukraine”, with Parliament reaffirming the need to provide the country with whatever is needed to regain full control over its internationally recognised territory.

All EU and NATO allies should support Ukraine militarily with no less than 0.25% of their GDP annually, MEPs argue, while urging EU countries to immediately enter into dialogue with defence companies to ensure increased production and deliveries of ammunition, shells and missiles to Ukraine, which should be prioritised over orders from other third countries.

The resolution underlines the urgent need for a solid legal regime to allow Russian state-owned assets frozen by the EU to be confiscated and used for reconstruction in Ukraine and to compensate victims of the war. Russia must be obliged to pay reparations imposed on it to ensure that it contributes substantially to rebuilding Ukraine.

Sanctions

On 12 March, Parliament adopted a directive, agreed with member states, on criminalising the violation and circumvention of EU sanctions. It will introduce a common definition of, and minimum penalties for, violations.

EU sanctions can consist of freezing funds and assets (including crypto-assets), travel bans, arms embargoes, and restrictions on business sectors. While sanctions are adopted at the EU level, enforcement relies on member states, amongst which the definitions of sanction violations and associated penalties vary. The new law sets consistent definitions for violations, which would include acts such as not freezing funds, not respecting travel bans or arms embargoes, transferring funds to persons subject to sanctions, or doing business with state-owned entities of countries under sanction. Providing financial services or legal advisory services in violation of sanctions will also become a punishable offence.

The directive ensures the punishment for violating and circumventing sanctions is dissuasive by making them criminal offences carrying prison sentences of a maximum of five years in all member states.

Further reading

War in the Gaza Strip

In a resolution adopted on 25 April, MEPs strongly condemn the Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel and call for further sanctions against Iran. Parliament voices serious concern over the escalation and threat to regional security. MEPs reiterate their full support for the security of the State of Israel and its citizens and condemn the simultaneous rocket launches carried out by Iran’s proxies Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi rebels in Yemen against the Golan Heights and Israeli territory before and during the Iranian attack.

At the same time, they deplore the attack on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus on 1 April, which is widely attributed to Israel. The resolution recalls the importance of the principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises, which must be respected in all cases under international law.

In a resolution adopted on 14 March, MEPs call on Israel to immediately allow and facilitate full aid delivery into and throughout Gaza via all existing crossings, underlining the urgent need for rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access.

They reiterate their call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire to address the looming risk of mass starvation in Gaza and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. The International Committee of the Red Cross must be given immediate access to all Israeli hostages being held in Gaza to provide them with medical care.

There can be no prospect of peace, security, stability and prosperity for Gaza or for Palestinian-Israeli reconciliation, MEPs warn, as long as Hamas and other terrorist groups play any role in Gaza.

Parliament also strongly condemns the rise in extremist settler violence and attacks by the Israeli armed forces against Palestinians in the West Bank, attacks that have already killed hundreds and injured thousands of Palestinian civilians. MEPs strongly condemn the acceleration of the illegal settlement of Palestinian land, which constitutes a violation of international law. They are deeply concerned about the risk of escalation in the conflict, in particular in Lebanon.

Further reading

 

European security and defence

In two reports on the EU’s foreign, security and defence policy, adopted on 28 February, MEPs warn that the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has sparked a series of global economic shocks and added significant destabilising pressure on countries in the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership.

They want the EU to reform its neighbourhood policy and accelerate the enlargement process, while advancing institutional and decision-making reforms, including the publication of a roadmap for future work by the summer of 2024. MEPs urge the EU to improve its capacity to act in response to, as well as to pre-empt, global crises.

With US-China competition as a backdrop, Parliament is concerned about the increasing relevance of more exclusive formats of cooperation and emphasises that traditional multilateral forums – in particular the UN and its agencies –should be the EU’s preferred forums for cooperation.

With the focus on Russia’s illegal, unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine, Parliament highlights the role played by Iran, Belarus, North Korea and China in supporting the Kremlin’s war machine. MEPs say Russia’s war is part of a wider strategy to undermine the rules-based international order and underline that the EU will continue to support Kyiv with the necessary military means to end the conflict.

MEPs also demand an increase to and acceleration of the EU’s financial and military assistance, stressing that Ukraine’s military victory and the country’s future integration in the EU and NATO are necessary to guarantee Europe’s security, stability and sustainable peace.

Further reading

 

Competitiveness

On 25 April, Parliament approved the net-zero industry act to bolster EU production in technologies needed for decarbonisation. It sets a target for Europe to produce 40% of its annual deployment needs in net-zero technologies by 2030, based on National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) and to capture 15% of the global market value for these technologies.

Technologies to be supported include all renewable technologies, nuclear, industrial decarbonisation, grid, energy storage technologies, and biotech. The law will simplify the permitting process, setting maximum timelines for projects to be authorised depending on their scope and output.

The Act provides for the creation of “Net-Zero Acceleration Valleys” initiatives, speeding up the permitting process by delegating parts of the evidence collection for environmental assessments to member states.

On 23 April, MEPs approved a revamp of EU fiscal rules making them clearer, more investment-friendly, better tailored to each country’s situation, and more flexible. MEPs significantly beefed up the rules to protect a government’s capability to invest. It will now be more difficult for the Commission to place a member state under an excessive deficit procedure if essential investments are ongoing, and all national expenditure on the co-financing of EU-funded programmes will be excluded from a government’s expenditure calculation, creating more incentives to invest. Countries with excessive debt will be required to reduce it on average by 1% per year if their debt is above 90% of GDP, and by 0.5% per year on average if it is between 60% and 90%. If a country’s deficit is above 3% of GDP, it would have to be reduced during periods of growth to reach 1.5% and build a spending buffer for difficult economic conditions

Further reading

 

Migration

On 10 April, Parliament adopted ten legislative texts to reform EU migration and asylum policy. The new regulation on asylum and migration management aims to improve support for EU countries subject to migratory pressure, whereby other member states will have to contribute by relocating asylum applicants or beneficiaries of international protection to their territory, making financial contributions, or providing operational and technical support.

The crisis and force majeure regulation establishes a mechanism to respond to sudden increases in arrivals, ensuring solidarity and support for member states facing an exceptional influx of third-country nationals. The screening regulation establishes that people who do not meet the conditions to enter the EU will be subject to a pre-entry screening procedure, including identification, collecting of biometric data, and health and security checks, during a period of up to seven days.

A new common procedure across the EU to grant and withdraw international protection was also adopted, with the objective of making processing asylum claims at EU borders faster, with shorter deadlines for unfounded or inadmissible claims. Parliament also backed new uniform standards for all member states for recognising refugee or subsidiary protection status, and regarding the rights granted to those qualifying for protection.

The reception condition directive makes sure that member states have equivalent reception standards for asylum seekers when it comes to, for example, housing, schooling and health care. Finally, according to the new EU resettlement framework and humanitarian admission, member states will, on a voluntary basis, offer to host UNHCR-recognised refugees from third countries, who would travel to EU territory in a legal, organised and safe way.

Further reading

 

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