EU budget 2023: Empowering Europe to continue shaping a changing world
The Commission has today proposed an annual EU budget of €185.6 billion for 2023, to be complemented by an estimated €113.9 billion in grants under NextGenerationEU. The EU budget will continue to mobilise significant investments to boost Europe's strategic autonomy, the ongoing economic recovery, safeguard sustainability and create jobs. The Commission will continue to prioritise green and digital investments while addressing pressing needs arising from recent and current crises.
Commissioner Johannes Hahn, responsible for the EU Budget, said: “We are continuing to put forward extraordinary amounts of funding to support Europe's recovery and to tackle current and future challenges. The budget remains an important tool the Union has at its disposal to provide clear added value to people's lives. It helps Europe shape a changing world, in which we are working together for peace, prosperity and our European values”.
The draft budget 2023, boosted by NextGenerationEU, is designed to respond to the most crucial recovery needs of EU Member States and our partners around the world. These financial means will continue to rebuild and modernise the European Union and strengthen Europe's status as a strong global actor and reliable partner.
Speech by President von der Leyen at the African Union Extraordinary Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference
Dear Excellencies,
Delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am delighted to have the chance to address you today at this Extraordinary Humanitarian Summit. I regret that I cannot be with you in person in Malabo.
Since I welcomed the leaders of the African Union three months ago in Brussels, the unthinkable has happened. Russia launched a war of conquest against Ukraine. It is flattening Ukrainian cities. Destroying farmland and crops. And killing thousands of civilians. Russia is bombing warehouses filled with wheat for export. It is blocking the sea routes for grain export. The consequences of Russian aggression span well beyond Europe, as you know.
EU disburses €300 million in Macro-Financial Assistance to support the Tunisian people
The European Commission, on behalf of the EU, has today disbursed €300 million in Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) to Tunisia. This is the second and last disbursement under the COVID-19 MFA programme to Tunisia, approved to mitigate the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and enhance macroeconomic stability. The first instalment of €300 million was disbursed in June 2021 after ratification by the Tunisian Parliament of the agreement on Macro-Financial Assistance.
Tunisia is the ninth country for which the COVID-19 MFAs are completed, out of the ten enlargement and neighbourhood partners supported by the €3 billion emergency MFA package in the context of the pandemic. This assistance will allow Tunisia to allocate resources towards mitigating the negative socio-economic consequences of the pandemic on its population, now aggravated by the negative impact that Russia's aggression against Ukraine is having on food and energy security. In total, €600 million in loans have been disbursed under this emergency support programme over the past year, a tangible demonstration of EU solidarity with the Tunisian people at a time of unprecedented crisis.
Special Address by President von der Leyen at the World Economic Forum
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Indeed, following your introduction, dear Klaus, it is difficult to believe that in Davos today we are talking about war. Because the Davos spirit is the antithesis of war. It is about forging ties and together finding solutions for the big challenges of the world. You might remember, and you worked on it together with us, that in recent years, we have looked for smart and sustainable ways to fight climate change; and how to shape globalisation so that all can benefit; how to make digitalisation a force for good, and mitigate its risks for democracies. So Davos is all about crafting a better future together. That is what we should be talking about here today. But instead, we must address the costs and consequences of Putin's war of choice. The playbook of Russia's aggression against Ukraine comes straight out of another century. Treating millions of people not as human beings but as faceless populations to be moved or controlled, or set as a buffer between military forces. Trying to trample the aspiration of an entire nation with tanks. This is not just a matter of Ukraine's survival. This is not just an issue of European security. This is putting our whole international order into question. And that is why countering Russia's aggression is a task for the entire global community.
Customs: Provisional agreement reached on EU single window which will make customs clearance easier and faster
Today, the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a single window for customs which sets the appropriate conditions for digital collaboration between customs and partner competent authorities. The aim is to make international trade easier, shorten customs clearance times and reduce the risk of fraud. It will also help reduce the administrative burden for traders.
Efficient customs clearance and controls are essential to allow trade to flow smoothly while also protecting EU citizens, businesses and the environment. Once fully implemented, businesses will no longer have to submit documents to several authorities through different portals. The single window environment will allow customs and other authorities to automatically verify that the goods in question comply with EU requirements and that the necessary formalities have been completed.
Energy policy is at the centre of EU foreign policy
HR/VP Blog - We face a major geopolitical crisis with the war against Ukraine and at the same time a major ecological and security threat with climate change. REPowerEU is the integrated response to this double challenge. The Commission and I tabled this week specific concrete proposals in many domains including a more ambitious and targeted EU energy diplomacy.
Energy policy has always been a geopolitical issue and this has become even clearer now with the war on Ukraine. For years we have debated the need to reduce our dependence on energy imports from Russia, a country that uses energy as a political weapon. Now we know we can no longer afford to put this off: we are funding the Kremlin’s ability to wage war against Ukraine. Doing this will not be an easy task and will require internal actions on numerous fronts detailed in the REPowerEU plan.
“We have to ensure that our short-term goal - depriving Putin of the resources and levers that fossil fuels give him - is coherent with our medium-term objectives of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.”
Child labour: Commission invests in a new action to target agriculture value chains
The European Commission will invest €10 million in a new action that mainly targets agriculture value chains, where child labour is prevalent and exports to the EU significant. European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen announced it at the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, which takes place in Durban, South Africa, on 15-20 May. The conference is organised by the government of South Africa, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Alliance 8.7.
“Child labour is a complex problem with many root causes. To address this, the EU has provided over €200 million to support 150 projects targeting child labour in 65 countries since 2008, and remains committed to exploring innovative approaches to intensify the fight against child labour. Today, I am proud to announce that, as we boost efforts to scale up food security in partner countries, the EU is investing €10 million in a new action to target child labour in agriculture value chains. By working strategically – whether it’s on value chains, education, or supporting livelihoods, we can get closer to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal of ending all forms of child labour by 2025. The EU is proud to be joining Alliance 8.7, and we look forward to working with all to enhance knowledge and scale up best practices that work,” said the Commissioner Urpilainen at the high-level panel.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine puts the global economy at risk
HR/VP Blog – Last weekend I attended in Germany the G7 meeting of ministers of foreign affairs. One of our main topics was the massive negative impact on the world economy of the war on Ukraine with significant risks of destabilization in many regions and countries. It could also weaken international support to condemn Russian aggression as our video conference with the Indonesian foreign affairs minister confirmed. Europeans need to be fully aware of those risks and act to limit them globally.
Many voices are warning of the recession that the war against Ukraine could cause. “War sets back economic recovery” the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stated recently. "Is the global economy flying into a perfect storm, with Europe, China, and the United States all entering downturns at the same time later this year? ", the American economist Kenneth Rogoff asked. Such a negative dynamic could trigger a new global financial crisis.
European Commission and EIB sign an Agreement to enable further investments worldwide
Today, the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed an ambitious Guarantee Agreement through which the European Commission will support up to €26.7 billion of EIB financial operations to enable crucial public investments in sectors like clean energy, digital and transport infrastructure, health and education over the next seven years, rolling out Global Gateway worldwide.
Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, said: “Today's landmark guarantee agreement with the European Investment Bank will enable to finance the implementation of our Economic and Investment Plans for the Western Balkans, the Southern and Eastern Neighbourhood. We launched these three substantial investment plans to support their post-COVID socio-economic recovery and to speed up the closing of their development gap with the EU. We worked together with the region to identify the key bottlenecks of their development. Although each investment plan is individually designed for the region it aims to build faster and more sustainable road, rail and digital connections, decarbonise the economies, ensure safe energy supplies, create sustainable business opportunities and put conditions in place that make the young generation stay in the region. In the next years together with the EIB we will be able to deliver in the Western Balkans, the Southern Neighbourhood, and the Eastern Partnership countries these much needed and awaited investments, bringing growth and jobs directly and on a larger scale than ever before.”
Food insecurity: the time to act is now
The brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine has provoked massive hikes in food prices and created the risk of food shortages. We must act now to protect the people affected. Last month, the Commission launched a plan to fight food insecurity and has already started its implementation. We took stock of the situation at the last College of Commissioners.
Food is essential for all of us, but this is particularly the case in developing countries where it represents a dominant part of household expenditure. Many of these countries depend heavily on imported food. North Africa and the Middle East in particular import over 50% of their cereal from Ukraine and Russia. Record food prices preceded the ‘Arab spring’ a decade ago and social tensions might mount again in the region. Others, like for instance Niger, Madagascar or Somalia, already face severe food crises, and Lebanon or Turkey are subject to major economic crises. The South Caucasus countries, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, are also in great danger due to their extreme reliance on imports from Russia and Ukraine.