Press release – China and the EU agree to protect each other’s food and drink specialities
Parliament consented to an agreement by 645 votes, with 22 against and 18 abstentions, signed in September 2020 between the EU and China to ensure that onehundred European products bearing geographical indications (GIs) – including Feta, Münchener Bier, Polska Wódka, or Queso Manchego – will be legally protected in China against imitations and the misuse of a product’s name.
MEPs agreed to extend the agreement to a further 175 European and Chinese products within four years.
Confidence building
In a resolution adopted by 633 votes, with 13 against and 39 abstentions, Parliament welcomed the agreement, calling it an “important confidence-building exercise” during the ongoing EU-China negotiations on a bilateral investment agreement.
At the same time, Parliament expresses its concern about the market-distorting practices used by Chinese state-owned enterprises, forced technology transfers, and other unfair trading practices.
Parliament is also deeply concerned by the reported exploitation and detention of Uyghur people in factories in China.
“This is the first economic and commercial agreement ever signed with China, and it has symbolic and confidence-building value. It promises to boost European agri-food exports to China, already worth €14.5 billion in 2019. It is also a good measure of China’s ambition to protect intellectual property rights more robustly.”
Next steps
With Parliament’s consent, the Council must now adopt the agreement so that it can enter into force at the beginning of 2021.
Background
In 2019, China was the third largest destination for EU exports of GI products, including wines, spirit drinks, and agri-food products. In 2018 and 2019 however, 80% of European seizures of counterfeit and pirated goods originated in China, causing losses of €60 billion to EU suppliers, says the draft resolution.
Press release – Long-term EU budget deal: a “win-win” result to face the challenges ahead
MEPs hailed the Parliament’s unity in the budget negotiations, which resulted in a deal reached on Tuesday that will bring additional funding for future jobs, competitiveness, and better climate protection – benefiting citizens, young people, researchers and health workers in times of crisis.
Johannes Hahn, the EU Commissioner for budgetary affairs, commended legislators on reaching a “good deal”, showing that “Europe is up to the challenge”. He particularly welcomed the additional funds and ambition that MEPs insisted upon despite the initial cuts proposed by member states, as well as the introduction of the rule of law mechanism and a clear roadmap towards own resources.
Jan Olbrycht (EPP, PL) hailed the budget agreement as a “win-win result” for all involved, and stressed that the negotiators had found a solution to reinforce policies without breaching the agreement that EU leaders sealed in July on the next MFF and the Next Generation EU recovery fund. He also described the recent budget negotiations as the most difficult to date, with so many new elements to take into account, such as preserving the EU’s ambitions while dealing with Brexit and a deteriorating situation in Europe due to the pandemic.
Iratxe García Pérez (S&D, ES) warned “no one would understand that we cannot agree to act as soon as possible” to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic on European citizens. “We have to overcome divisions and blackmail and focus on people’s needs”, she added. García Pérez stressed that she was confident the Recovery Plan will be a success, “if we manage to swiftly implement the new long-term budget and the own resources decision”.
Dacian Cioloş (Renew, RO) highlighted the historic importance of the agreement, not only because of the additional funding, but also with regard to new Own Resources, with which polluters will be held accountable and digital companies will have to pay a fair share of taxes. Member states will also have to respect the EU’s founding values to access funds. “This constitutes a historic juncture for the EU”.
“Will relocations be encouraged?” asked Jean-Lin Lacapelle (ID, FR). Part of the recovery must be based on incentives that take into account the vulnerability of SMEs and “invest in localism”, he said. He also denounced the “European tax” by which “all citizens will be fiscal subjects to Euro-globalisation”.
Philippe Lamberts (Greens/EFA, BE) expressed his “pride” in the Parliament “having the courage to assert its convictions” in the budget negotiations. “It is undeniable that the agreement reached yesterday is a substantial improvement on the one reached by the Council in July (…) this time the Council has respected us”, he said.
Johan Van Overtveldt (ECR, BE) welcomed that Parliament’s negotiators had been able to shift the “untouchable” position member states had taken on the long-term budget, thereby securing more funding for the EU’s innovation and flagship programmes.
Dimitrios Papadimoulis (GUE/NGL, EL) said that Parliament’s achievements are a positive step but more is needed to address citizen’s expectations, and expressed his hope “that the Council will obey this agreement and will have the necessary unanimity.”
To listen to the full speeches, click on the following links:
Key principles for the global space economy: EU Council adopts conclusions
The Council today adopted a set of conclusions entitled “Orientations on the European contribution in establishing key principles for the global space economy” in preparation of the tenth Space Council meeting, to be held by video conference on 20 November 2020. The text provides important orientations for future European space policy.
In these conclusions, the Council notes with satisfaction the emergence of a highly competitive European space industry and supply chains, which enables Europe to participate in (and contribute to) the global growth of the space economy. It calls upon all actors to work towards ensuring a global level-playing field and open economies, including free and fair trade, on the basis of multilateral solutions and reciprocity in the space sector.
With a view to fostering European space autonomy, security and resilience, the Council stresses the need for European technological non-dependence and recalls the importance of maintaining a secure, autonomous, reliable, cost-effective and affordable access to space. Particular attention is devoted to space traffic management, where the need for a coordinated European approach is highlighted, as well as to space cybersecurity.
In order to achieve these objectives, the Council stresses the importance of coordinated actions by the European Union, the European Space Agency and their respective member states, based on the parallel competences and respective tasks and responsibilities and fully respecting the institutional settings and operational frameworks, to strengthen the European Space Policy.
Background
The Space Council is a joint and concomitant meeting of the EU Council (Competitiveness – Space configuration) and of the ESA Council at Ministerial level. It is a forum enabling the EU and the European Space Agency (ESA) to coordinate cooperative activities on European space policy. ESA is composed of 22 member states: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom (which are also EU Member States) + Norway and Switzerland. Canada also sits in the Council and takes part in some projects under a Cooperation Agreement. Slovenia is an Associate Member. Seven other EU member states have Cooperation Agreements with ESA: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Slovakia.
Media advisory – Video conference of ministers of home affairs, 13 November 2020
Indicative programme
Chair: Horst Seehofer, Federal Minister of the Interior, Building and Community
11.10 – Doorstep by Minister Seehofer
12.00 – Video conference of ministers of home affairs
15.30 – Continuation of the video conference of ministers of home affairs
Pact on Migration and Asylum
Arrangements for the doorstep
You can register with the German Presidency of the Council to have the possibility to ask questions remotely through this link.
Deadline for registration: Thursday, 12 November 15:00
Arrangements for the press conference
Please note that there will be no physical press conference. EU accredited journalists will be able to ask questions remotely provided they have registered in advance.
You can register and have the possibility to ask questions remotely through this link. Journalists who already registered for previous home affairs videoconferences do not need to register again.
Deadline for registration: Friday, 13 November 13:45.
Further instructions will be sent to all registered participants approximately half an hour after the deadline.
EIB Group adopts Climate Bank Roadmap and approves € 400 million for COVAX initiative to ensure global access to COVID-19 vaccine, part of € 7.8 billion for COVID-19 support, transport, water and cities.
EIB Board approves EIB Group Climate Bank Roadmap to support € 1 trillion green investment by 2030 and Paris Alignment of all financing activities
€ 1.8 billion for COVID-19 health, medical and economic resilience
€ 2.6 billion for private sector investment with global financing partners
€ 1 billion for sustainable cities and energy efficient housing
The European Investment Bank (EIB) Board of Directors today approved the EIB Group Climate Bank Roadmap 2021-2025 that will guide future EIB financing to support €1 trillion of climate action and environmental sustainability investments by 2030, and align all financing activities with the principles and goals of the Paris climate agreement by the end of 2020.
The EIB approved € 7.8 billion of new financing to support investment by business impacted by COVID-19, alongside backing clean transport, sustainable urban development, renewable energy, health and education investment across Europe and around the world.
This includes € 400 million for the international COVAX initiative to ensure fair and equitable access to successful COVID-19 vaccines in Africa and scale up vaccine manufacturing in 92 developing and emerging economies alongside dedicated financing to help tourism companies impacted by the pandemic.
“The EIB Group is proud to have backed BioNTech, the German company that achieved a breakthrough in COVID-19 vaccine research this week. An effective COVID-19 vaccine is now within our reach – a truly historic achievement that has resonated globally. Now it is crucial that vaccines become available throughout the world, not only in rich countries. This is why it is so important that the EIB has today approved support for the COVAX initiative to ensure access to a successful COVID-19 vaccine in developing countries”, said Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank.
“But COVID-19 is not the only crisis on our hands. The climate and environment emergency is claiming lives as we speak and we must face up to it urgently. Today we agreed the EIB Group Climate Bank Roadmap that details our € 1 trillion response to the climate emergency in the years ahead. It is a major contribution to Europe’s role leading the way toward decarbonisation and a green, resilient and socially inclusive economy”, added Werner Hoyer.
The EIB approved € 1.8 billion for medical research, new hospitals and public health investment and local lending schemes to strengthen private sector reliance to the economic shocks of COVID-19.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the EIB has approved more than € 27 billion of new financing to enable public and private partners across Europe around the world to better tackle health, social and economic challenges.
Meeting by video conference, the EIB Board also agreed projects to improve sustainable transport, urban development, clean energy, access to water and education across Europe, Africa and Asia.
€ 2.6 billion to help businesses address COVID-19 challenges
The EIB today approved more than € 2.6 billon for new targeted business financing programs. This includes dedicated support for tourism companies hit by the COVID-19 crisis in France and a regional investment programme for growth companies in Bavaria.
Access to financing in Bulgaria, France, Germany, Romania and Spain will be enhanced by EIB support for new schemes managed by local financial and banking partners.
Direct EIB backing for corporate investment in electric vehicles, renewable energy and chemical innovation was also approved, alongside increased support for venture debt financing across Europe.
New initiatives to enhance access to finance by SME supply chain companies in Spain and venture debt financing across Europe will be supported by the European Guarantee Fund.
EIB Board adopts Climate Bank Roadmap
The EIB Group Climate Bank Roadmap 2021-2025 was approved today by the Board of the European Investment Bank. This will guide future climate action financing by the European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund (EIF).
The EIB Group Climate Bank Roadmap details how the EIB and EIF will support €1 trillion of climate action and environmental sustainability investments by 2030, and align all financing activities with the principles and goals of the Paris climate agreement by the end of 2020.
It sets out in detail how the EIB Group aims to support the European Green Deal and sustainable development outside the European Union.
The proposal adopted today reflects input from stakeholder engagement earlier this year and more than 200 written submissions to the bank.
The existing EIB Climate Strategy was announced at the Paris Climate Conference in 2015. Five years later, the EIB is on track to deliver on its commitment of $100 billion climate finance in the period of 2016-2020.
€ 1.9 billion for sustainable urban and regional transport in Europe
Sustainable urban transport in towns across Italy will be transformed by € 300 million EIB backing for a new municipal clean transport financing scheme that will accelerate adoption of clean vehicles and reduce reliance on private cars.
Support for 145 electric buses and associated charging infrastructure in the Swedish city of Gothenburg was also approved.
The EIB board approved new financing for construction of a new high speed railway line between Madrid and the Portuguese border, as well as regional trains in Hungary and eastern France.
Rural communities in Cyprus and Ukraine will benefit from new EIB backed investment in local roads.
€ 1.1 billion for improving cities and better homes
People living in cities across Poland, Germany, Austria, Ukraine and Mongolia will benefit from improved housing, better municipal services and upgraded urban transport under new sustainable urban investment and social housing financing approved by the EIB.
New initiatives will improve social services, urban transport and accelerate regeneration in the Polish cities of Poznan, Bialystok and Radom as well as across the Wielkopolska region.
Energy efficiency, social housing and urban development will be supported in Düsseldorf and Innsbruck along with financing programmes to upgrade urban infrastructure in secondary cities across Mongolia.
The EIB also approved further support for priority investment in towns most impacted by conflict in eastern Ukraine and to meet infrastructure needs for internally displaced people.
€ 1 billionfor improving health and education
Hospital patients as well as university and school students will benefit from new hospitals and improved health services, schools and university investment agreed by the EIB.
Health care, medical education and scientific research at the Medical University in Lublin in Poland will be transformed by EIB backed modernisation and expansion of specialist facilities. The EIB also agreed to support construction of a new hospital in the French city of Lens and COVID-19 healthcare investment across the Netherlands.
Education and school life in the Seine-et-Marne department north of Paris will be improved by EIB backed construction and upgrading of high schools approved today.
The EIB also agreed to support investment to increase local manufacturing capacity of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients in Africa.
€ 1 billionbacking for clean energy, addressing regional pollution and water
The EIB approved support for new windfarms in southern Italy, France and Portugal, expansion of district heating in Alkmaar and Dordrecht and increased use of geothermal energy to heat Dutch greenhouses.
The latest phase in the € 5 billion twenty year restoration of the Emscher River in Germany will benefit from further EIB support following approval of a new € 500 million 45-year loan. The initiative is improving wastewater for 2.2 million local inhabitants and allowing the rich ecosystem in the Emscher River to return following decades of use as an open sewer.
Water and wastewater services in Cologne will also be upgraded following new EIB support.
