The last decade has certainly not lacked for foreign policy challenges for the EU. On a global scale, these have included a more assertive Russia, a rising China that is becoming evermore confident in pursuing its interests, a United States that has begun a series of trade conflicts that many argue threaten the world’s economic […]
Conference of President’s statement
The Conference of Presidents held a meeting on 28 May ahead of the informal dinner of the EU heads of State and Government, scheduled today, and it committed to the following: The May 2019 European Parliament elections open a new chapter for Europe’s political and democratic cycle. The significantly increased turnout across Europe proves that European […]
New ACP-EU Partnership: assessment of the progress made and move to the next stage
Following the recent consultations at regional level with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, Chief Negotiators Commissioner Mimica and Togolese Minister Robert Dussey met in Brussels recently to discuss the outline for the future ACP-EU agreement. Next steps While talks on the specific regional partnerships progress, the EU and ACP negotiating teams will continue their […]
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Research Assistant Fellowship
The OSCE PA Research Assistant Programme is open to graduate students and recent graduates of political science, law, international relations or other related fields from OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation. Research Assistants develop their knowledge of international politico-military, economic and environmental, and human rights affairs and build their professional skills in areas connected […]
Aviation Strategy for Europe: Commission signs landmark aviation agreements with China
The European Union and China have signed an agreement on civil aviation safety and a horizontal aviation agreement to strengthen their aviation cooperation. The agreements follow up on the EU-China Summit of 9 April and will serve to boost the competitiveness of the EU’s aeronautical sector and enhance overall EU-China aviation relations. This marks yet […]
EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey: solid progress in supporting refugees
The Commission reported today good progress in the implementation and programming of €6 billion of the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey. More than 80 projects are currently up and running delivering tangible results to refugees and host communities in particular on education and health. Out of the €6 billion, some €4.2 billion has been […]
EU Solidarity Fund
The Commission proposes €293.5 million under the EU Solidarity Fund for Austria, Italy and Romania following natural disasters that occurred in 2018. The Commission also publishes a report evaluating the work of the Fund since its creation in 2002 and providing recommendations for the future. The €293.5 million is broken down as follows: €277.2 million for Italy following […]
EU reports on political and economic developments in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2018
Trade, economic and cultural relations between the European Union and Hong Kong remained strong during the period covered by this annual report. The European Union remained Hong Kong’s second-largest trading partner after mainland China, while Hong Kong was a major partner for the European Union as regards trade in goods and services and foreign investment […]
European Defence Union: new guidance to help Member States run joint defence procurements
The European Commission has published guidance on cooperative defence procurement to help Member States apply the Defence Procurement Directive (Directive 2009/81/EC) consistently and make use of all the cooperation possibilities it offers. This will facilitate Member States’ participation in collaborative defence projects under the future European Defence Fund and its current precursor programmes. Commissioner Elżbieta […]