On Tuesday 21th, the Council gave its green light to Switzerland joining Union programmes, such as Horizon Europe, Euratom Research and Training, ITER/Fusion for Energy (F4E), Digital Europe, Erasmus+, as well as EU4Health. Our partnership with Switzerland is longstanding and based on common values. In the current complex and evolving geopolitical context, our relationship needs to […]
Road Safety Statistics for 2024: Progress continues amid persistent challenges
In 2024, 19,940 people lost their lives in road crashes across the EU, according to latest statistics released by the European Commission today. This represents a 2% decrease compared to 2023 and marks continued, but slow, progress toward the EU’s Vision Zero goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030 and getting close […]
Co-Chairs Conclusions on Strengthening Cross-Regional Security and Connectivity
Today the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas, Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, and Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jozef Síkela, met with representatives from EU Member States, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan in Luxembourg for the Ministerial Meeting […]
EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific: Council approves conclusions
On Monday 20th, the Council approved conclusions on the implementation of the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific stressing that the EU should further intensify its strategic focus, presence, visibility and actions in the Indo-Pacific with the aim of contributing to our joint stability, security, prosperity and sustainable development, underpinned by the promotion of democracy, […]
Council agrees its position on rules to phase out Russian gas imports under REPowerEU
The Council today agreed on its negotiating position on the draft regulation to phase out imports of Russian natural gas. The regulation constitutes a central element of the EU’s REPowerEU roadmap to end dependency on Russian energy, following Russia’s weaponisation of gas supplies and repeated disruptions of gas supplies to the EU with significant effects on the European […]
New chapter in the cooperation between Europe and Canada
The European Union and Canada have concluded a Security and Defence Partnership and launched cooperation initiatives in industrial policy and digital trade during a bilateral summit held yesterday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa welcomed Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney in Brussels, days after he hosted the G7 Summit in Kananaskis. With the new […]
Nearly one in four children in the EU (24%) faced the risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2024.
In 2024, 19.5 million children in the EU were at risk of poverty or social exclusion. This figure represented 24.2% of children under the age of 18, down by 0.6 percentage points (pp) from 2023 (24.8%). At the country level, in 2024, the highest values were reported in Bulgaria (35.1%), Spain (34.6%) and Romania (33.8%). In contrast, Slovenia (11.8%), Cyprus (14.8%) […]
Building Resilience in the Black Sea: The EU’s Strategic Vision
Yesterday the EU is putting forward a new strategy for a stable and secure Black Sea region. This Strategy aims to boost connections and growth, by linking Europe with the South Caucasus, Central Asia, and beyond. Amidst Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the strategy will also reinforce the EU’s geopolitical role as a reliable actor in the Black Sea region. The […]
President Ursula von der Leyen in Uzbekistan to take the EU-Central Asia partnership to the next level
President Ursula von der Leyen, together with President António Costa, will attend the first ever EU-Central Asia Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, on Friday 4 April. This visit is a strong signal of the EU’s political commitment to a deeper and stronger partnership with Central Asia. European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen said: “We are heading to Samarkand to […]