Good afternoon everyone,

We had a productive College today. You already had a press conference on the migration package, so I will focus on the remaining issues.

Let me start on a positive note. Vice-President Ansip informed the College that the end date for roaming charges is in two days. As of 15 June, Europeans, when travelling abroad, will be able to consume mobile voice, SMS and data services for the same price as at home. This is good news ahead of the vacation season. We are convinced that this will also benefit, for example, current and future ERASMUS students and mobile workers.

Commissioner Moscovici and I myself informed the College on the state of play in the Greek programme. Our message was clear – Greece is delivering on its part of the deal. Remaining Prior Actions were voted.

Our teams are now carefully assessing the adopted legislation and will report to the Eurogroup on Thursday. However, I can tell already now that they seem to be in line with what has been agreed. The second review is within reach, provided that all parties take their responsibilities.

We need an agreement now. And we need a disbursement now for the economic recovery in Greece to remain on track.  

Successful conclusion of the 2nd review would be a critical step for Greece on its way to sustainable growth and jobs creation and eventually to return to markets.

Moreover, growth in Greece has been and will be further supported by exceptional levels of technical and financial help. Since our Plan for Growth and Jobs for Greece launched nearly 2 years ago, Greece has received almost EUR 11 billion from a large pool of EU funds. And Greece is among the top performers in terms of the use of EU funds.

President Juncker and our Chief negotiator Michel Barnier updated the College today on the preparations for the upcoming Brexit negotiations.

Two position papers, on citizens’ rights and the financial settlement, were sent yesterday to the UK and the papers were also made public.

Let me reiterate our message that we stand ready to negotiate with the UK and that we hope that negotiations can start very soon.

Finally, the College also adopted targeted reforms to make the supervision of Central Counterparties, or CCPs, more robust both in the EU and abroad.

We need to make sure that we are one step ahead of current developments. Since the financial crisis, we adjusted our legislative framework, and more and more derivatives transactions are being cleared by a limited number of CCPs. Some of these are systemically important for the EU financial system. We also need to prepare for the departure of the EU’s largest financial centre from the single market. That means taking action to preserve financial stability and provide certainty to businesses.  

That’s why today we are introducing a more pan-European approach to the supervision of CCPs. We also want to ensure closer cooperation between supervisory authorities and central banks responsible for EU currencies.

We are empowering the European Securities and Markets Authority – or ESMA – with the task of ensuring a more coherent and consistent supervision of CCPs both in the EU and outside – so called third countries.

On third country operators, for non-systemically important CCPs, not much will change: they will continue to operate under the equivalence system.

For systemically important CCPs outside the EU, they will be subject to dual supervision, meaning both by their home authorities and by ESMA. This is in line with the approach taken by others, such as the United States.

In some specific circumstances, and as a last resort, authorities may require individual CCPs to be established within the EU. This would be only when a CCP is of substantial systemic importance and enhanced supervision by ESMA is not sufficient to safeguard financial stability. In such instances, the decision can be taken by the Commission, at the request of ESMA and in agreement with the relevant central bank – this would be the European Central Bank for the Eurozone.

This proposal will have costs and benefits, and we have assessed them thoroughly in our impact assessment. We have calibrated our proposal to minimise the impact for businesses.

The benefit is that we will maintain financial stability in the face of major challenges. This is in the interest of our citizens and the economy as a whole.

Thank you very much.

The European Union and Ukraine held their annual Human Rights Dialogue on 13 June 2017 in Kyiv, the third time since the signing of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. In the Association Agreement, the European Union and Ukraine express their mutual commitment to common values, in particular full respect for democratic principles, rule of law, good governance, human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The meeting was held in an open and constructive atmosphere, allowing a thorough exchange of views on the current human rights situation in Ukraine and on progress since the last dialogue, held in July 2016.

The EU and Ukraine expressed grave concern over the further deterioration of the human rights situation on the Crimean peninsula, including the situation of Crimean Tatars, following its illegal annexation by the Russian Federation. The EU and Ukraine condemned the human rights violations and abuses in the areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which are not under the full effective control of the Government of Ukraine. They also called for the immediate release of illegally detained Ukrainian citizens in Russia and the Crimean peninsula.

The EU and Ukraine raised ways to mitigate the humanitarian impact on civilians of the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula, and the conflict in the east of Ukraine. They also discussed the ways to protect the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs). The work of the Ministry for Temporary Occupied Territories and IDPs and the Action Plan for certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, adopted by the Government of Ukraine, were welcomed.

The EU and Ukraine discussed the prevention of ill-treatment and torture and thecontribution that the ongoing reforms in the area of law enforcement continue to have in strengthening human rights in Ukraine. The EU also called for further progress to be made in the investigations into the crimes committed during the EuroMaidan protests, and the violent events in Odesa on 2 May 2014, emphasising the need to address the shortcomings identified by the International Advisory Panel of the Council of Europe and to bring to justice those responsible.

The EU highlighted the importance of harmonising electoral legislation and the appointment of members of the Central Election Commission whose mandate has expired.

Both sides highlighted the importance of free and independent media and discussed ways to advance the safety of journalists and media outlets, including the steps taken to address publication of journalists’ private data on Ukrainian websites. The decision to block a number of Russia-based online services was also addressed.

Also on the agenda of the Dialogue was non-discrimination policy, including the rights of LGBTI persons and those belonging to ethnic, linguistic, religious and national minorities, and the rights of the child. Gender equality and women’s rights, especially domestic violence, were raised and the EU encouraged Ukraine to ratify the Istanbul Convention.

The EU and Ukraine cooperate well in international fora in the field of human rights. The European Union recalled that Ukraine has committed to the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The EU delegation was led by Mr Dirk Schuebel, Head of Division for bilateral relations with the Eastern Partnership countries in the European External Action Service. The Ukrainian delegation was led by Mr Sergui Petukhov, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine. In line with usual practice, the EU held consultations with representatives of Ukrainian civil society and international organisations prior to the dialogue. In March 2017, human rights organisations from Ukraine and the EU held a civil society seminar on human rights. The recommendations of that seminar were also discussed in the dialogue.

The dialogue was planned to coincide with the Justice, Freedom and Security subcommittee to be held on 14 June.

The next Human Rights Dialogue meeting between Ukraine and the EU is scheduled to take place in the summer of 2018.

Dear all,

With all our partners inside and outside Europe, we are working hard to deliver both on the internal and external dimension of our common migration policy.

All our actions are based on three fundamental principles: respect, responsibility-sharing and solidarity. All elements are interlinked and we cannot move on one without the other.

Today we celebrate 30 years of Erasmus Plus. More than 9 million students have participated so far already. They are the ambassadors of Europe, living and building our openness, further fostering a European consciousness.  

It is the duty of our generation to consolidate and uphold these European values, which are now unfortunately at stake and put into question, particularly in the field of migration. 

But on migration, we have come a long way as a Union.

What is essential now, is to sustain and further enhance this progress, at all levels, and by everyone.

Let me start with the EU-Turkey Statement: despite sometimes challenging circumstances it continues to deliver steady results. The number of arrivals remains low. Returns from Greece to Turkey need to be accelerated, in full respect of EU and international law, in order to reduce the migratory pressure on the Aegean islands. 

As regards the Partnership Framework, one year after we launched it, we have made tangible progress in building stronger relations with five African priority countries: Niger, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Ethiopia. In the last months, we have started to engage with additional important countries of origin not only in Africa but also in Asia. 

We are discussing with all these countries on how to address the root causes of irregular migration more effectively and to rapidly improve our cooperation on all aspects of migration management.

Niger is a symbolic example of what can be achieved under the Partnership Framework. With our coordinated engagement with the Niger authorities, controls and police actions have been stepped up leading to the arrest of migrant smugglers.

Meanwhile, many stranded migrants have been assisted to voluntarily return to their countries of origin. We should expand this model of cooperation with other transit countries in the region.

In parallel, following up on the Malta Declaration, we continue to work with Libya and the neighbouring countries in North Africa to stem the irregular flows in the Central Mediterranean and prevent the loss of life at sea.

The Italian Coast Guard is helping the Libyan Coast Guard to improve its operational capabilities for Search and Rescue. For this purpose we awarded yesterday Italy with EUR 1.8 million in additional emergency assistance.

In addition to the support provided to the Libyan Coast Guard, we have started to provide assistance to migrants and refugees stranded in Libya. Thanks to our cooperation with international partners on the ground, more than 3,300 migrants have returned from Libya to their countries of origin: This is more than the number of migrants returned from Libya in the entire year of 2016.

We will be able to provide more support also to our Member States on returns: with the full roll-out of the European Border and Coast Guard steadily continuing, already the pace of return operations from Europe continues to grow, with more than 6,500 returns in 2017 so far organised by the European Border and Coast Guard.  

I call on Member States to rapidly increase their use of the Agency’s capabilities on return but also to urgently address the gaps in human resources and technical equipment, in particular for the ongoing operations.

Ladies and gentlemen, We also have to make progress to better manage migration inside the European Union.  We cannot and will not leave Member States at the external border on their own.

All those eligible – a number that is much lower than 160,000 – should be relocated in the coming months. We can achieve this objective if all Member States take their fair share.

I want to commend and thank those Member States that have continued relentlessly with their efforts so that in May we almost had 2,400 relocation transfers. In total, almost 20,300 asylum seekers in clear need of protection have been relocated.

But relocation is not a choice. It is a legal decision, with legal obligations, agreed on collectively, and which has to be carried out collectively, without exceptions. 

There have been enough delays, and there have been enough discussions. It is time for action.

I regret to see that despite our repeated calls to pledge and relocate, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland have not yet taken the necessary action. For this reason, the Commission has decided to launch infringement procedures against these three Member States.

We have to be fair towards those Member States that do fulfil their obligations. I sincerely hope that these Member States can still reconsider their position and contribute fairly. 

On resettlement we see positive and continued progress, with more than 16,000 persons resettled so far from Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.  

This is almost 75% of the agreed total of 22,504 people to be resettled before September. Resettlements under the EU-Turkey Statement reached a new record high in May 2017 with almost 1,000 Syrian refugees being provided with safe and legal pathways to Europe.

Dear all,

What this shows, is that it is entirely feasible to show solidarity to both the people in need as well as countries under pressure, who are hosting them – whether it is for resettlement or relocation. What it takes is political will and a spirit of commitment to our European obligations.

Europe is not only about requesting for funds or ensuring security. Yes these are all important. But Europe is also about sharing difficult moments and challenges as well as common dreams.

In other words, Europe is about sharing. And political will means political responsible leadership.

But let me be clear once again: we only relocate or resettle people in clear need of protection. These are people who have been very thoroughly identified, screened and fingerprinted. 

In fact, it is precisely by not facilitating relocation or resettlement that one contributes to secondary flows and to irregular arrivals – and this in turn contributes to security risks.

Only by relocating and by resettling, by following the procedures, can we effectively and jointly reduce irregular and secondary migration flows, and any potential security risks.

It is now high time for everyone to deliver.

Thank you.