The text was approved with 524 votes in favour, 47 against and 115 abstentions.

Negotiations for a new five-year protocol began on 19 July 2019, and the agreed Sustainable Fisheries Partnership has applied provisionally since it was signed on 18 November 2019.

The protocol provides tuna fishing opportunities for up to 28 freezer tuna seiners, ten pole-and-line vessels and five longliners from Spain, Portugal and France (10.000 tonnes per year), as well as black hake fishing opportunities for two Spanish trawlers (1.750 tonnes per year).

The annual EU financial contribution is €1.7 million, of which €800.000 represents a payment to access Senegal’s waters. The remaining €900.000 will provide sectoral support to implement Senegal’s fisheries policy. This will go towards improving fisheries control, developing fisheries research and data collection, and providing health certification for fisheries products.

MEPs also adopted an accompanying resolution (583 votes in favour, 43 against and 60 abstentions), which recommends several priorities for sectoral support. These priorities include modernising fisheries control by updating satellite tracking of fishing vessels and using electronic logbooks, supporting Senegal’s fight against illegal fishing by monitoring vessels in the port of Dakar more rigorously, and developing scientific capacity and data collection.

Background

The first ever EU bilateral fisheries agreements was signed with Senegal, in 1979. It was a mixed agreement, implemented until 2006 using a series of protocols that gave EU vessels access to a wide range of fisheries resources. In 2014, it was reshaped into a tuna agreement with a demersal component (black hake), concluded for five years.

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 one hundred 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.

In exchange, one hundred Chinese products will benefit from the same form of protection in the EU.

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.

Rapporteur Iuliu Winkler (EPP, RO), said:

“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.

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:

Commissioner Johannes Hahn

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/plenary/en/vod.html?mode=unit&vodLanguage=EN&vodId=1e83922a-9830-6a9f-fffe-c4fb1dab3ea2&date=20201111#

First round of Political Group speakers

https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/multiannual-financial-framework-including-own-resources-rule-of-law-conditionality-mechanism-and-the-recovery-fund-for-europe-opening-statement-by-johannes-hahn–european-commissioner-for-budget-and-administration_I198733-V_v

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.

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

• Terrorist threats after recent attacks

+/- 14.45 – press conference in live streaming

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.

Visit the meeting page