{"id":121414,"date":"2022-10-27T12:05:42","date_gmt":"2022-10-27T10:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cde.ual.es\/?p=121414"},"modified":"2022-10-27T12:25:33","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T10:25:33","slug":"european-council-20-21-october-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cde.ual.es\/en\/european-council-20-21-october-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Conclusions adopted by the European Council on October 20 and 21, 2009."},"content":{"rendered":"

On 20-21 October 2022, the European Council adopted conclusions on Ukraine\/Russia, critical infrastructure, energy and economy and external relations.<\/p>\n

This meeting follows the informal European Council held in Prague on 7 October, during which EU leaders discussed Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine and the impact it is having on the energy market and the economy in Europe.<\/p>\n

\"european<\/a><\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s escalating aggression against Ukraine<\/h3>\n

EU leaders discussed the Kremlin\u2019s\u00a0latest escalation of the aggression<\/strong>\u00a0and mass atrocities. EU leaders resolutely condemned\u00a0Russia\u2019s indiscriminate missile and drone attacks<\/strong>\u00a0targeting civilians and civilian objects and infrastructure in Kyiv and across Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Leaders expressed\u00a0concern for the safety<\/strong>\u00a0of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, in particular following recent action there by Russia. They underlined the EU’s support for the International Atomic Energy Agency’s efforts to maintain the safety and security of the facility.<\/p>\n

The European Council, in line with the UN General Assembly’s resolution, reiterated its unequivocal condemnation and firm rejection of the illegal annexation by Russia of Ukraine\u2019s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. As in the case of Crimea and Sevastopol, the European Union will never recognise this illegal annexation.<\/p>\n

EU leaders demanded that Russia\u00a0immediately, completely and unconditionally<\/strong>\u00a0withdraw all of its military forces from the entire territory of Ukraine. They also reiterated their\u00a0full support for Ukraine<\/strong>\u00a0and stated that they would stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes.<\/p>\n

The European Council stressed that it is determined to counter disinformation aimed at negating the EU’s collective efforts to defend Ukraine. The European Council also reiterated that\u00a0Russia bears sole responsibility for the current energy and economic crises<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Safety of civilians and war crimes<\/h4>\n

EU leaders resolutely\u00a0condemned Russia\u2019s indiscriminate attacks against civilians<\/strong>\u00a0and civilian infrastructure. They demanded that international humanitarian law be respected for the sake of civilians.<\/p>\n

The European Council acknowledged Ukraine’s efforts to secure accountability for war crimes and invited the High Representative and the Commission to explore options to ensure full accountability for these crimes.<\/p>\n

Sanctions<\/h4>\n

Leaders took stock of the sanctions imposed so far, including those adopted earlier this month, and discussed how to further\u00a0increase collective pressure on Russia to end its war of aggression.<\/strong><\/p>\n

EU heads of state or government\u00a0called on all countries to align with EU sanctions<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

They also called on the\u00a0Belarusian authorities to stop enabling<\/strong>\u00a0the Russian war of aggression by permitting Russian armed forces to use Belarusian territory and by providing support to the Russian military. They stressed that the\u00a0Belarusian regime must fully abide by its obligations<\/strong>\u00a0under international law and that the EU remains\u00a0ready to move quickly with further sanctions against Belarus.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Visa procedures for Russian applicants<\/h4>\n

The European Council stressed the importance of united EU practices on visa issuance for Russian applicants and welcomed the Commission’s updated guidelines, which call for reinforced security scrutiny when issuing visas to Russian citizens and heightened border controls, while fully respecting EU asylum law.<\/p>\n

Military support for Ukraine<\/h4>\n

EU leaders highlighted that the EU remains strongly committed to providing further military support to\u00a0help Ukraine exercise its inherent right of self-defence<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>against Russian aggression and defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.<\/p>\n

EU leaders welcomed the recent decision to establish an\u00a0EU Military Assistance Mission to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces<\/strong>. The strategic objective of EUMAM Ukraine is to contribute to enhancing the military capability of Ukraine\u2019s Armed Forces (UAF) to regenerate and to effectively conduct operations, in order to allow Ukraine to defend its territorial integrity.<\/p>\n

Leaders also discussed the decision to allocate a further\u00a0\u20ac500 million<\/strong>\u00a0under the\u00a0European Peace Facility<\/strong>\u00a0to finance deliveries for the Ukrainian defence forces, thereby bringing the EU\u2019s military assistance to Ukraine to a total of \u20ac3.1 billion.<\/p>\n

The European Council commended the work on the ground by the civilian EU Advisory Mission in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Commission disburses further \u20ac2 billion in exceptional macro-financial assistance to Ukraine
\n<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Financial support for Ukraine<\/h4>\n

EU leaders called for the timely provision of the remaining\u00a0\u20ac3 billion<\/strong>\u00a0in support of Ukraine through several consecutive macro-financial assistance (MFA) operations. This financial assistance aims to\u00a0foster stability in Ukraine<\/strong>\u00a0and address its immediate and most urgent funding needs.<\/p>\n

Leaders called for a\u00a0more structured solution to providing assistance to Ukraine\u00a0<\/strong>inviting the Commission and the Council to work on this.<\/p>\n

Reconstruction of a democratic Ukraine<\/h3>\n

The European Council remains determined to support Ukraine’s relief,\u00a0rehabilitation and reconstruction.<\/strong><\/p>\n

EU leaders discussed the\u00a0governance and financing<\/strong>\u00a0of these efforts, including the issue of reforms ahead of the International Expert Conference in Berlin later this month.<\/p>\n

Recalling the European Council conclusions of 30-31 May 2022, leaders invited the Commission to present options aimed at using frozen assets to support Ukraine\u2019s reconstruction.<\/p>\n

Sanctions targeting the use of Iranian drones in Russia’s aggression<\/h3>\n

EU leaders strongly condemned the use of Iranian drones in Russia’s aggression and called for it to cease. Leaders welcomed the latest demonstration of support for Ukraine in the swift adoption of sanctions. The Council added\u00a0three Iranian individuals and one Iranian entity\u00a0<\/strong>to the list of those subject to restrictive measures for undermining or threatening Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.<\/p>\n

Food security<\/h3>\n

EU leaders addressed the global food crisis. They expressed their support for the call by the United Nations Secretary-General to extend the\u00a0UN Black Sea Grain Initiative\u00a0<\/strong>beyond its current period ending in November.<\/p>\n

Leaders reiterated that Russia, by weaponising food in its war against Ukraine, is solely responsible for the global food security crisis it has provoked and the unprecedented rise in food and fertiliser prices.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0EU-Ukraine solidarity lanes<\/strong>\u00a0have helped export Ukrainian crops, agricultural products and fertilisers to the countries most in need. The EU will continue to improve the efficiency of the lanes.<\/p>\n

Critical infrastructure<\/h3>\n

The European Council\u00a0strongly<\/strong>\u00a0condemned acts of sabotage<\/strong>\u00a0against critical infrastructure, including the Nord Stream pipelines, and stated that the EU would meet any\u00a0deliberate disruption or other hybrid actions with a united and determined response.<\/strong><\/p>\n

To enhance the resilience of critical infrastructure, the European Council called on EU member states to:<\/p>\n