European Council

I would like to thank Prime Minister Rõivas for his warm welcome and for taking time during what I know is an intense political season in Estonia.

I have travelled to Tallinn today to consult with the Prime Minister ahead of our summit of 27 leaders in Bratislava next week. We will be meeting to talk about what the European Union could and should look like after Brexit.

I know, that here, in Estonia the prospect of the UK leaving the Union is a shock, as the UK has been a great ally in questions you care about, such as free trade and the digital agenda, not to mention security policy. I am aware of questions that have arisen here because the UK will take the lead in deploying troops in Estonia as part of NATO's  reassurance measures. I talked yesterday with Prime Minister Theresa May and I can assure you that she shares our determination to keep the best and closest possible relations between the EU and the U.K.

The meeting in Bratislava, however, is not about Brexit per se but about how we organise the EU in the future. And this is exactly what I discussed today with Prime Minister Rõivas: It was important for me to hear your thoughts, Taavi, on how the EU could best respond to the concerns that so many Europeans have today: about irregular migration, the effects of globalisation, the slow recovery from the economic crisis, and the fear of terrorism, which has touched Estonia recently in a very direct way in Nice.

We need to show that we are aware, determined and capable of handling the biggest concerns. This is also why I will appeal to all 27 leaders next week in Bratislava to send concrete, operational support to Bulgaria to protect its border with Turkey, in the form of border guards and equipment.

To conclude, I would like to thank the Prime Minister and the Estonian government for having agreed to take on the task of the EU Presidency 6 months earlier than you had planned for. I am absolutely convinced that you will not only manage but will excel at it. The second half of 2017, when you will lead the work of the Council of the European Union, promises to be an intense and critical time for the EU. I can think of no one else I would rather have in my corner at that time. Thank you.

Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for joining us here at the Eurogroup press conference in Bratislava. I would like to take the opportunity to thank our Slovak hosts for the excellent organisation and the splendid venue where we are today. We welcomed to the Eurogroup Petteri Orpo, the newly appointed Finnish Minister of Finance. He was with us for the first time. We also welcomed Alenka Smerkolj who is the Acting Slovenian Minister of Finance.

So this was our first Eurogroup after the summer break, with many challenges ahead. Reading the newspapers which you (journalists) deliver to us, you sometimes feel that there is an atmosphere of doom and gloom over the eurozone. I would like to say that the economic recovery is progressing, growth has returned to almost all of our countries and becomes stronger year on year. Unemployement is going down in most countries so there are some very positive signes throughout the eurozone. Growth is keeping up with the US - that is also an interesting perspective to take - and the support of policies that we have in place: monetary policy, support for investments, structural reforms, improving the quality of public finances, on all of those areas we will continue to push the effectiveness of what we do and see what further steps are needed.

Today we discussed first of all the state of affairs in Greece. We took stock of the progress. There are number of milestones still pending to fully complete the first review and coupled with those are further disbursements. So we took stock of those and heard a little about the issues at stake. There was a general feeling that we must not lose time - the time scale that was drawn up and agreed in May 2016 - so more progress is needed and we strongly encouraged the Greek government as a whole to speed up the implementation of the remaining milestones. That of course could also help in ensuring a timely start and completion of the second review. The work on that will have to start very soon also. Against this background, we were happy to hear from our Greek colleague his commitment to do that work very quickly. We will be following  that closely in the coming weeks.

We also discussed three fiscal issues:

First of all, we looked at the issue of early and late submissions of the draft budgetary plans. We have looked at this a couple of times in recent years and I am glad to announce that all Ministers are committed from now on to submitting draft budgetary plans in the window of 1-15 October. So let's not have anymore early submissions, let alone late submissions. The draft budgets plans need to come in within that timeframe, and that will also allow the Commission to synchronise the horizontal assessment of the draft budgetary plans that then follow.

The issue on what a caretaker governement should do in that period was also discussed -the general line of course being that they can submit a no-policy-change-budget. On these two elements, the guidelines, I believe it is the two-pack, will have to be adjusted and that work will now proceed and come back to us in Ecofin.

Secondly, we took stock of the Commission preparations and the dialogue with the European Parliament in relation to the partial freezing of structural funds commitments following the Spanish and Portuguese EDPs. The Commission informed us on the state of play there and I think we all agree that that the process needs to be completed as soon as possible. As you know the Spanish and Portuguese governments need to, on top of their draft budgetary plans, submit by the latest on 15 October a specific report on the effective action that they need to take. I am sure that Commissioner will say more about that.

Third, we were informed on the progress on the technical work on making the stability and growth pact simpler, more predictable and understandable for all of us - this is about the indicators needed to see whether countries comply with the act. This is the debate we had in Amsterdam during the informal Ecofin and Eurogroup. There is good progress and we should be ready to take some decisions on these budgetary indicators later this year. We will come back to that, probably in November 2016.

Finally, we held another discussion on the quality of public finances in our countries, we have discussed it before - today we focused on spending reviews, which is for ministers of finance a very useful and effective way to get a better insight into improvements on the effectiveness of public spending - to assess priorities, and to ensure that public money is spent wisely and effectively. So we exchanged information and experiences on this topic, and number of ministers informed us how they use the instrument and how it works, and we have designed a number of common principles on the use of this instrument of expenditure reviews. We will come back to that in the first half of 2017 and on a regular base after that.

Those were the key issues today. Let me give a floor to Commissioner Moscovici.

The Eurogroup considers spending reviews to be a useful tool for improving the quality of public finances. They offer a complementary means of supporting fiscal responsibility through reviewing priorities in public expenditure, and can contribute to a more growth-friendly composition of the budget. They have particular relevance for the euro area, where sound fiscal policies are a key matter of common interest and whose Member States have chosen to closely coordinate fiscal policies. In times of high public debt and historically low economic growth rates, there is more need than ever to ensure that taxpayers' money is used efficiently. The Eurogroup therefore calls on euro area Member States to actively use spending reviews. 

The Eurogroup has looked at the experience with spending reviews in  euro area Member States and beyond, and noted a number of principles that need to be followed if spending reviews are to have an optimal impact on the quality of public spending. The Eurogroup therefore endorses the following set of common principles for improving the quality of public finances through the use of spending reviews: 

• Strong and sustained political commitment at a high national level, throughout the project, is essential for successfully carrying out spending reviews and implementing their findings into meaningful reforms.
• The designand implementation of spending reviews should follow best practices that include: (i) a clear strategic mandate specifying the objectives (potentially including quantified targets) the scope (a significant share of general goverment spending across several policies) and a centre of coordination, (ii) the use of pilots to build expertise, (iii) the provision of adequate resources and access to data, (iv) the use of guidelines for consistency in producing diagnosis, baselines, reform options and implementation roadmaps, (v) the use of fact-based analysis linking spending across budget and administrative structures to policy outcomes.
• Monitoring and communication to the public on the progress and outcome of reviews  should be regular and transparent.  Spending reviews themselves should be subject to independent ex-post evaluation to learn lessons for future reviews.
• The ambition and conclusions of a spending review should be consistent with annual and multiannual budget planning. The national fiscal framework should include the principle of running regular spending reviews to inform budget making.

The Eurogroup approves these common principles as a reference point for reviewing national reform efforts to improve the quality of public finances in euro area Member States. The Eurogroup thus invites the Commission to assess developments in this field within its usual processes and surveillance mechanisms, with a view to allowing periodic monitoring by the Eurogroup. Also to this end, the Eurogroup invites its preparatory committees and the Commission to develop a workstream on the exchange of best practices and lessons learnt on spending reviews undertaken in euro area Member States. The Eurogroup expects to revisit this workstream on a regular basis starting in the first half of 2017, drawing on further experiences made in Member States. 

Good afternoon. I am very happy to be back in Riga. In fact, it is my third visit here since becoming President of the European Council. I wish to thank Prime Minister Kučinskis for his warm welcome.

Today we will discuss the prospects for our summit next week in Bratislava. I am convinced that the summit must be about bringing back political control of our common future. And that it must be about bringing back a strong sense of political community.

It is a clear lesson from the outcome of the referendum in the UK - but one which is equally valid across Europe: people are worried about the phenomena which seem to be out of control - migration, terrorism, external threats, or the negative consequences of globalisation. We have to confront those issues and demonstrate our determination, and our capacity, to ensure on the one hand the openness of Europe, while on the other the protection of our citizens. Much of this is under the responsibility of Member States, but the EU can assist them. The European Union must help provide a renewed sense of security and stability to Europeans.

Earlier today I was in London, where I met Prime Minister May. I informed her of our meeting in Bratislava, and she informed me of the current thinking in the British government regarding Brexit.

I know that Brexit is a particular concern for Latvia, because so many of your citizens reside in the UK. Our goal is clear: to establish the closest possible relations between the EU and the UK. It is obvious that, once the negotiations begin, securing the rights of EU citizens living in the UK will also be a key objective for us. And it is equally clear that our future relationship with the UK requires a balance of rights and obligations - any access to the Single Market must be based on the four freedoms, including the freedom of movement.

But the negotiations cannot begin until the UK activates the process for withdrawal. Article 50 of the Treaty is very clear. In fact, it is there to protect the interests of the countries remaining in the EU. I told Prime Minister May that I am convinced that it is in everyone's best interest that we start negotiations soon, to reduce and eventually end the uncertainty. Thank you. 

Thank you Prime Minister for having me here today in London, at such a crucial time, both for the UK and for the European Union.

My intention is to tell you about the agenda of the Bratislava meeting of 27 leaders next week. We decided to organise this informal meeting to discuss and to assess the political consequences of Brexit for the EU community. This doesn't mean that we are going to discuss our future relations with the UK in Bratislava. For this, and especially for the start of the negotiations, we need your formal notification, I mean Article 50. And this is the position shared by all 27 Member States.

To put it simply, the ball is now in your court. I am aware that it is not easy, but I still hope you will be ready to start the process as soon as possible. But I am convinced that at the end of the day our common strategy goal will be to establish the best possible relations between the UK and the European Union.

The Stabilisation and Association Council (SA Council) between Albania and the European Union held its eighth meeting on 8 September 2016. 

The SA Council noted that the Commission report 2015 on Albania concluded that the country made further progress towards meeting the political criteria for membership and, overall, steady progress continued in the five key priorities for the opening of accession negotiations. 

The SA Council noted the conclusions of the General Affairs Council of 15 December 2015, which recognised Albania's continued commitment on the reform agenda. On that occasion, the Council underlined that judicial reform remained key to further forward movement on Albania's EU accession process and could also be transformative for other reforms. 

The SA Council confirmed that Albania maintained an overall sustained pace in the implementation of public administration reform measures. The EU welcomed the unanimous adoption in July of a set of constitutional amendments for a thorough and comprehensive reform of the justice system. The SA Council took note of the recent adoption of the law on the vetting of judges and prosecutors, which represents an important step forward for the implementation of the justice reform. It is essential to proceed with a swift implementation of the reform. The EU also welcomed that Albania took further steps in the fight against corruption and organised crime, as well as on human rights matters. 

The SA Council welcomed the continued active participation of Albania in regional initiatives and structures in South Eastern Europe and its good neighbourly relations and constructive regional stance. The EU acknowledged Albania's role in the region as a pro-active and constructive partner, and underlined the importance of Albania's commitment to a positive engagement in the region, including through the conclusion of bilateral conventions, and to further promoting regional cooperation. The EU reiterated that good neighbourly relations and regional stability are essential elements of the Stabilisation and Association process. 

The SA Council welcomed the full alignment of Albania to Council decisions and in the field of Common Foreign and Security Policy.

The meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama. The EU delegation was led by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the Commission, Federica Mogherini. The Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement negotiations, Johannes Hahn, represented the European Commission. The Albanian delegation included the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ditmir Bushati, the Minister for European Integration, Klajda Gjosha, and the Chair of the European Integration Committee of the Albanian Parliament, Majlinda Bregu, as representative of the opposition.

Good afternoon. It is great to be here in Dublin. I would like to thank the Taoiseach, not only for his warm Irish welcome, but also for our excellent co-operation over the past years. Ireland is, and always has been, a respected voice around the European table. After the dark days of the banking crisis, your return from the edge to be the fastest growing economy in Europe is really remarkable. Enda, you are a symbol in Europe of effective crisis management. Without Ireland's sacrifice and example, the European Union would be in a worse situation now. And we know it.

No one in Europe should question that the reasons for the success of your country are wise political leadership, and the hard work, creativity, and the determination of the Irish people.

I am in Dublin today to consult with the Taoiseach ahead of our summit of 27 leaders in Bratislava next week. We will be meeting to discuss what Brexit means politically for the future of the European Union. I know that Brexit is a very disorientating prospect for Ireland. You are a committed EU member. Sooner or later, your biggest trading partner - and the country with which you share a long history- will not be. The consequences of this are serious, also for the situation in Northern Ireland. The Taoiseach and I are working together closely to ensure that your country does not suffer from a decision that it did not make. Enda, I know you are in constant touch with Prime Minister May. You will also be the first leader that I brief after my own meeting in London tomorrow.

The Bratislava summit is not about Brexit per se. It is about bringing back political control of our common future. People are turning against what they perceive as an irrational openness. They see the world around them getting more chaotic: uncontrolled migration, terrorism, injustices linked to globalisation. We have to confront such issues with real and uniform political leadership. And by saying leadership I don't mean the institutions but first of all the community of member states and their leaders. What must be delivered is a sense of security and order. We in Europe cannot build a political community only on the concept of mandatory and total openness for everyone. The Union also has to be about protection - protection of our freedoms, our security, our quality and way of life. Our goal is to regain the sense that globalisation is an opportunity and not a threat. There is a balance to be restored. I think the Union is one of the best tools we have to do it.

Bratislava needs to show that the political elites in Europe are not detached from reality. That we will be open to the outside world, but always bearing in mind the best interests of our own citizens. That is why I want our leaders to have a political discussion without any taboos about the future.

To conclude, I know there has been a tremendous debate already here over the European Commission's decision in the Apple case. The Taoiseach has explained to me the reasons why the Irish government wants to take the issue to court. I will not comment on this case because this will now be up to the Court. But let me add that I don't expect taxation to be a major issue in Bratislava. Thank you.

Thank you for inviting me to speak to you today at your Annual Meetings. A few months ago I spoke to Guntram (Wolf) about this event and about a possible topic for my remarks. There are elections coming up in France, Germany and my country, the Netherlands. At the same time, the polls - not to mention the outcome of the Brexit referendum - highlight the appeal of populists all over Europe. My remarks today will focus on what Europe's agenda should be to counter these populist trends.

Let me first talk briefly about where we are.

Despite global headwinds, our economy is recovering. Growth has returned to almost all EU countries. Growth in the eurozone in the last quarters was higher than in the US. Unemployment is expected to decrease to slightly over 10% this year which is still far too high. And our deficits are falling as well; 19 countries left the EDP since 2011 and debt levels are steadily declining. The general government deficit in the euro area in 2009 was over 6%, and is expected to decrease to slightly below 2% in 2016.

So, all in all, there are many positive developments to report. However, reading today's newspapers you would guess differently. In fact, you'd encounter quite a lot of doom and gloom.

-     'Europe is old and inward-looking'
-     'Europe's economy is in a bad shape'
-     'Europe is slow, expensive and inefficient'

I could go on for a while.

According to Europe's populists, the solutions are relatively simple and straightforward. Just close the borders, leave the eurozone, leave the EU and don't sign any more trade deals in the future.

So where is all this pessimism coming from?

To answer this, let us first go back a few years, to the end of 2008, when we were faced with something unprecedented: a huge banking crisis. Which then became a sovereign debt crisis. We are still recovering from this, and then last year, we were faced with a big refugee crisis.

Using the word crisis, is beginning to be inflated. It is used too much. I'm beginning to wonder if we are not suffering from a post-traumatic stress syndrome. Every event that occurs is immediately framed as the next big crisis. Take the volatility in the stock markets at the beginning of this year, for example. Or how the markets behaved ahead of the Brexit vote. Even the slightest headwind seems to be framed as the beginning of the next crisis.

This preoccupation stemming from the trauma of 2008 - 2010 blurs our vision on the real issues at stake.

It is true, in my mind, the EU has failed to deliver on its main tasks.

The EU, and the euro area in particular, is a unique construct in the world, but in recent years it underperformed. The refugee crisis and the threat of terrorism, coming on top of the financial crisis, made it painfully clear that we were unable to guarantee people the prosperity and security that they rightly ask of us. Today, whilst the EU has become more and more intrusive, people feel that the EU has not been the solution to their problems.

The EU is also unique because of its high standard of socioeconomic security. That's something we can - and should - be very proud of. The welfare state is part our core social-cultural heritage, it is part of our identity. We, policy makers, should be much more aware of this. And yet, this social system cannot remain static. Our welfare state is under increased pressure due to several reasons.

Firstly, the economic and financial crisis created pressure. All member states have to increase competitiveness while bringing back their finances on a sustainable footing at the same time. This requires  for politicians to make difficult choices between solidarity and investing in future growth. Preferably keeping the both together.

Secondly, demographic ageing forces us to define the scope of our solidarity even further. Our population is turning increasingly grey, which poses a challenge to our public finances, for example due to the costs of health care, long-term care and pensions.

But also the ratio of people over 65 and those aged between 15-64 that changes drastically, making our social welfare state unaffordable without adaption.

Thirdly, migration may seem to offer an attractive solution to ageing, but it would be hard to realise this in practice. Immigrants face barriers because of their language or cultural backgrounds.

Their skills don't match many of the new jobs in our societies.

Without a job they rightfully receive income support benefits and this can put pressure on our welfare states, again. And, when immigrants do enter the labour force they tend to occupy jobs in the lower segment. This means that natives face increased competition, which can put further pressure on their wages and reduce their employment opportunities. Indeed, these concerns played a major role during the Brexit debate in the UK.

And lastly, globalisation. Globalisation can be seen as another threat to our welfare state although it has brought many benefits.  Take for example the rise of China,. Not only have millions of Chinese people been lifted out of extreme poverty, but lower prices for many goods have also boosted growth in advanced economies. However, too often we have focused on these aggregate gains which conceal substantial redistributive effects. Workers in sectors which competed directly with countries like China have seen their factories close and have faced lower wages or unemployment.

We often assumed that the transition to new sectors would take place automatically. But this has proven harder than predicted and the workers who have lost out have become sceptical of free trade.

We may have underestimated these side effects of globalisation. We have to face up to the fact that some have simply benefitted more than others.

First of all, let me say this; in recent years politicians in all our countries embarked on lots of reforms to solve problems, despite the risk of losing elections. Sometimes we were forced by external factors, implosion of banks, risk of defaults of sovereigns. Sometimes we forced each other to reform, like in programme countries. These reforms have been perceived and sometimes skillfully framed as an attack on the social security system. They have been framed as an abuse of the crisis to get rid of governments. Feeding directly into populism.

My direct response to populism would therefore be to ensure fairness and equity, between the generations, between insiders and outsiders, and between globalisation's winners and losers. Because inequality is not a given. Because ageing and migration don't require us to dismantle the European social model. And because implementing reforms doesn't mean we have to diminish our social welfare state. Fairness and equity are not the answer to everything, but they surely have a vital role to play, also to understand the rise of populism in Europe. We need well-designed and well-timed reforms to increase fairness along different dimensions.

Let me mention a few.

First, fairness of people's opportunities. Here education is the most important investment for people to get ahead. High quality education give our children the opportunity to become smarter and more productive. Training gives adults the chance to develop new skills to adapt to a changing world. The OECD's 2016 'Going for Growth' report indicated that the biggest gains in labour productivity are achieved through educational reforms. Oo little attentioj is given to that. So we need to invest in education, vocational training, improving the quality of our teachers and providing early childhood education. This is by far the most socially beneficial type of reform. It will promote fairness and equal opportunities for all. And it will help both migrants and their children. And those who are at risk of losing out from free trade.

Secondly, fairness is also about who pays the bill at the end of the day. Each and every individual or company should contribute its fair share. Let me give a few concrete examples what this entails. It means multinationals that profit from a well-functioning educational and judicial systems, also contribute by paying for these services.

This is at the top of our agenda today. If we were part of the problem in the past, now The Netherlands need to be part of the solution. We need to fix our tax systems, also in the Netherlands.

That means fighting tax avoidance and increasing tax compliance. This is a fundamental issue to fairness. A fair and effective way to allocate the costs also means if a bank fails, the investors who took the risk should carry the burden. The well-known shift from bail-out to bail-in. If you want the profits in good times, you will carry the losses in bad times.

Another example of “who pays the bill” in relation to fairness is about sharing burdens across generations. Ageing comes at a price. We share the burden of this equally over generations by linking life expectancy to retirement age.

Thirdly, we need fairness in adapting to globalisation. In this respect ensuring fairness between globalisation's winners and losers requires on the one hand that we acknowledge that trade deals will bring benefits but also concentrated costs. So we will need to provide short-term social support as well as also long-term labor market reforms to stimulate employment shifts between sectors. On the other hand it will also be necessary to ensure other countries do not compete by lowering their labour standards or ignoring environmental  standards. We'll need to protect our standards in the trade deals we sign. There is a third element - to avoid a race to the bottom - the free movement of labour also requires we assure employees from elsewhere cannot work here by undercutting our national minimum wage.

Fourth, we need to reform our tax systems, true for almost all countries in the eurozone, to reduce the tax burden on labour. Taking on a worker is still very expensive in Europe. We can help fix the labor market and improve income equality by reforming our taxes, if we focus our efforts on the lower parts of the labour market.

To conclude, I would be the first to say that fighting the different types of inequality is not the sole solution to today's populism. But I'm absolutely convinced that inequality is one of the biggest drivers of people's concerns. And many populist parties understand that very well and put the social welfare state on their agenda. Let's take it back. So, fairness and equity should be the leitmotif in our approach today.

Solving the real underlying problems is one thing we have to do. Another is avoiding to repeat old mistakes. The EU has in past decades been built by taking big, historic steps. Taking a lot of risks of weakening the whole construct. So let's not take any more big leaps in the dark as we have done in the past.

As I said the EU is a unique construct with no simple governing structure. And yet questions of migration and globalization are too big for individual member states. My response to populism is not a lecture on how we can improve the governing framework of the EU. It is not to think of another big project that requires a deep dive in the pool of integration. Not now, at a time when our fundamentals are so unstable and people question the legitimacy of the EU as a whole. The worst response to real problems is to simply repeat the old answer of more and deeper integration.

Let's take a pragmatic and yet fundamental approach. Let's take on the questions of migration, globalization, ageing and technological disruption from the angle of equity and fairness, to reduce the many threats to our electorates. Security and prosperity should again be the key deliverables of the EU. Step by step.

Strengthen what we have and actually complete it. Secure our outside borders in order to manage migration and integration. Reform our welfare state so it becomes and remains beneficial for all generations. And finish projects such as the Banking Union, so it really protects tax payers, the Capital Markets Union, so capital becomes available to smaller companies and start-ups, and the Single Market, which can still contribute to growth.

Explain what Europe is and isn't. And stop using Europe as the convenient scapegoat for the difficult decisions we need to take.

Thank you.

On 7 September 2016 the governments of the EU member states appointed 14 judges to the General Court and one advocate-general to the Court of Justice.

Seven of the 14 appointments are related to the partial renewal of the General Court that takes place every three years. Six are linked to the reform of the General Court agreed in 2015. One follows the resignation of a judge.

In the framework of the partial renewal the following persons were appointed judges for a term of office ending on 31 August 2022: 

• Mr Barna Berke (Hungary)
• Mr Ricardo da Silva Passos (Portugal)
• Ms Octavia Spineanu-Matei (Romania)
• Mr Zoltán Csehi (Hungary)
• Mr Constantinos Iliopoulos (Greece)
• Ms Anna Marcoulli (Cyprus)
• Mr Dean Spielmann (Luxembourg)

Another two judges (from Poland and Slovakia) will have to be appointed to complete the 2016 partial renewal. 

As part of the reform of the General Court the member states' governments appointed the following judges: 

in the context of the first stage of the reform for a term of office ending on 31 August 2019 

• Mr Jan Passer (Czech Republic)

in the context of the second stage of the reform

• Mr Alexander Kornezov (Bulgaria)
• Mr Ezio Perillo (Italy)
• Mr René Barents (the Netherlands)
• Ms Maria José Costeira (Portugal)
• Mr Jesper Svenningsen (Denmark)

The mandates of the first two judges end on 31 August 2019 and the term of office of the last three on 31 August 2022. 

To complete the second stage of the reform of the General Court another two judges (from Ireland and Belgium) will have to be appointed. 

In place of Mr Carl Wetter who resigned as a judge of the General Court the member states' governments appointed Mr Ulf Öberg (Sweden) for a term of office ending on 31 August 2019. 

Mr Evgeni Tanchev (Bulgaria) was appointed as advocate-general of the Court of Justice for a period ending on 6 October 2021. This completes the 2015 partial renewal of the Court of Justice.

At their meeting in Hangzhou, China, on 4-5 September 2016, G20 leaders adopted a communique focusing on:  

• strengthening the G20 growth agenda
• pursuing innovative growth concepts and policies
• building an open world economy
• ensuring that economic growth benefits all countries and people

The communique also covers the migration and refugee crisis, the fight against terrorism and climate change.

Good morning, Zǎoshang hǎo,

Fully supporting  President Juncker's comments and assesments, I want to briefly touch upon three additional topics that the European Union will address during this G20 summit.

First, the migration and refugee crisis, which is a global challenge that requires global solutions based on order, responsibility and solidarity. In light of an unprecedented number of 65 million displaced people all over the world, the G20 community needs to scale up its share of responsibility. Only global efforts supporting refugees and their host communities will be able to bear fruit. That is why we want to encourage our partners to increase humanitarian and development aid, as well as refugee resettlement. We need to address the root causes that force millions of people to leave their homes and seek shelter elsewhere. The G20 has the expertise to make practical contributions through trade, development cooperation and refugees' access to education and labour market, and it must make use of it. We will urge the G20 to seize the opportunity of the forthcoming summits on refugees and migrants hosted by the UN and President Obama to increase aid and resettlements by countries outside Europe. It is even more important in view of the fact that the practical capabilities of Europe to host new waves of refugees, not to mention irregular economic migrants, are close to the limits.

Second, terrorism. Terrorist attacks are a threat to all our countries. A comprehensive approach against terrorism must involve actions to counter extremism and radicalization. This also includes a financial dimension. The G20 has already taken important steps to tackle terrorism-financing networks and to improve cooperation on the exchanges of information, freezing assets and on criminalization of terrorism-financing. We need to advance our work at G20 further in order to address this challenge that no country can handle on its own.

Third, climate change. The G20 has an important role to play in this global struggle. With major emitters around the table we need to make sure that our common priority is to implement the Paris agreement early and in a robust manner. The EU is fully committed to this goal and we want to encourage all G20 members to do the same. We are also happy that the United States and China, the two biggest global emitters, ratified the agreement. Before Paris, Europe was rather alone with our climate change policy. The ratification by the US and China is for us a hope that we will no longer be alone. Europe has had a comprehensive climate change policy in place already for years. Right now we are developing the laws which will allow us to deliver our ambitious target for 2030. We expect the challenge of climate change to be dealt with in all seriousness by the G20 partners. In the meantime, the ratification process is under way in the EU and will be completed as soon as possible.

Finally, let me say that there could not be a more dynamic place in the whole of China than Hangzhou to inspire our discussion on how to reinforce global cooperation. The European Union welcomes China's Presidency of the G20 this year and we look forward to having a successful summit in Hangzhou. Thank you.

Sunday 4 September 2016
G20 summit -Hangzhou, China
(local time)
12.00 Press briefing by President Donald Tusk and President Jean-Claude Juncker
14.30 Meeting with Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau
15.00 Official welcome by President Xi Jinping
15.15 Family photo
15.30 Opening ceremony
15.40 Working session I
18:30 Official greeting by President Xi and his spouse
18:50 Family photo - leaders and spouses

Monday 5 September 2016
G20 summit -Hangzhou, China
(local time)
10.00 Working sessions
15.35 Intervention at session V
17.05 Closing ceremony
18.00 Meeting with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Tuesday 6 September
Phone calls with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis

Wednesday 7 September 2016
Dublin (local time)
12.30 Meeting with Taoiseach Enda Kenny followed by press statements

Thursday 8 September 2016
London (local time)
09.00 Meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May
Riga (local time)
16.15 Meeting and press statements with Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis

Friday 9 September 2016
Vilnius (local time)
10.00 Meeting with President Dalia Grybauskaitė
Tallinn (local time)
13.45 Meeting with Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas followed by press statements
Stockholm
16.10 Meeting and press statements with Prime Minister Stefan Löfven

Good afternoon.

Allow me first of all to thank Prime Minister Bettel for his hospitality here in Luxembourg today. I really appreciate our close and good cooperation; just like I did during the excellent Luxembourg EU presidency only one year ago. 

The agenda for our talks today is of course our meeting at 27 in Bratislava on the 16th of September. We need to discuss what Brexit means politically for the European Union. We need to talk about ourselves, the European Union, that sooner or later will be left by the UK. 

The only way to succeed in Bratislava is to be frank and not to avoid even the most controversial and difficult topics. It is my deep conviction that our priority should be to take back full control in the field of internal security, and on our external borders. It is not an accident that this issue, together with migration, was at the forefront of the referendum campaign in the UK. But the sense of insecurity and destabilisation, in many aspects, including the economic one, is present also on the European continent. 

I am now in the process of consulting all the leaders of the EU member states. I share with them my strong belief that the key issue is still irregular migration. Together, we have made much progress since the biggest migratory wave towards Europe started last year. Just to give an example: the total number of irregular migrants arriving to Greece from Turkey in the last four months is the same as in a single day in October last year, when the crisis reached its peak. This shows that our collective action is working. Obviously, we still have much work to do. But our aim must be clear: Never again should we allow the chaos of 2015 to repeat in Europe. 

Another key problem is terrorism. We must strengthen our co-operation in the areas of internal and external security, especially in light of the recent terrorist attacks on European soil. National security is and will remain a national responsibility. But there is more we can do at the European level to help member states fight terrorists. 

In the course of the consultations I have conducted so far, my interlocutors also paid attention to the big and growing fear of globalisation, and the feeling of uncertainty about our economic future. The feeling of people that globalisation only benefits the elites. We must help people to restore faith in the fact that the EU should serve them, guarantee their protection and share their emotions. All too often today, the European elites seem to be detached from reality. 

In Bratislava, we need to come up with a common diagnosis of the European Union after the vote in the UK. We will not solve all the EU's problems overnight, but what we need to do there is to establish common objectives. This will allow us to rebuild a sense of political unity in the months to come, also ahead of our meeting in Rome in March 2017, 60 years after the founding of our community. We need that sense of political unity much more today, with the world around Europe bringing more threats than opportunities, than we did in the sunny days. 

And one last point. It is not our intention to talk about the UK in Bratislava or our negotiation strategy vis-à-vis the UK. Our position is crystal clear: there will be no negotiations without notification. This principle is enshrined in our treaties. And it is there for a reason: to protect the interests of the members of the Union that want to stay together, not the one which decides to leave. Therefore, we shall not give up on this principle.

Thank you.

On 30 August 2016, the Political and Security Committee authorised EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia to begin two additional supporting tasks:

• training of the Libyan coastguard and navy
• contributing to the implementation of the UN arms embargo on the high seas off the coast of Libya

This EU naval operation aims to disrupt the business model of human smugglers and traffickers in the Southern Central Mediterranean. The Council decided on 20 June 2016 to add these two supporting tasks to the operation's mandate.

After checking that the necessary conditions have been met, the EU ambassadors meeting within the Political and Security Committee decided on 30 August to authorise the beginning of the new tasks.

The legitimate Libyan authorities requested support in capacity building and training of their coastguard and navy. The objective is to enhance their capability to disrupt smuggling and trafficking in Libya and to perform search and rescue activities which will save lives and improve security in the Libyan territorial waters. This task will be financed through voluntary contributions from some EU member states managed by the Athena mechanism.

A more secure and stable Libya will contribute to the overall efforts to disrupt human trafficking and smuggling networks. On the basis of UN Security Council Resolution 2292 (2016), the operation will contribute to information sharing and support the implementation of the UN arms embargo on the high seas off the coast of Libya. This will increase the overall level of awareness of the maritime situation and limit arms flows to Da'esh and other terrorist groups.

EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia was launched on 22 June 2015. The operation entered its active phase in October 2015. This phase provides for the identification, capture and disposal of vessels used or suspected of being used by migrants' smugglers or traffickers. Since then, the operation has contributed to the arrest and transfer to the Italian authorities of 87 suspected smugglers and traffickers and neutralised more than 255 vessels. In addition, the operation has saved more than 22 000 lives and has supported other organisations in the rescue of more than 36 000 persons.

The Operation Commander is Rear Admiral Credendino, from Italy. The headquarters of the operation are located in Rome.

We would like to inform you about the key issues that will be discussed at the G20 summit in Hangzhou on 4-5 September.

1.  The G20 should continue playing a role in tackling the international refugee crisis

A comprehensive global response to share the responsibility in addressing the unprecedented refugee and migration crisis and its root causes remains a priority. We will urge the G20 to continue to support international efforts, and contribute to achieving successful outcomes at the forthcoming summit on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants at the United Nations, and the summit on refugees hosted by President Obama. We will call for scaling up humanitarian and development assistance, resettlement, support for refugees and their host communities through international financial institutions and tackling irregular migration. The G20 has the expertise to make practical contributions through trade, development cooperation and refugees' access to education and job opportunities.        

2.  Boosting jobs, growth, and investment should remain at the top of the G20 agenda

Although our economies have recovered from the crisis, the global outlook remains uncertain and many citizens still do not feel the benefits of growth. We will thus underline the importance of a credible narrative for sustainable and inclusive growth, which puts to work all available policy tools - monetary, fiscal and structural.

A key deliverable will be the G20 Hangzhou Action Plan and the updated Growth Strategies. We will call for accelerating the implementation of these strategies, keeping in mind the objective the G20 set in Brisbane to lift global growth by 2% by 2018. In this regard, the G20's “Enhanced Structural Reform Agenda”, with principles and indicators to measure progress on structural reforms, is welcome. We will seek to advance the work on growth-friendly composition and efficiency of public finances. The summit will also initiate cooperation on innovation, the new industrial revolution and digital economy.

Furthermore, we will welcome the good progress the G20 has made to promote infrastructure investment. There are strong synergies between the investment priorities of the EU and the G20. The European Fund for Strategic Investments is firmly on track to deliver the objective of mobilising at least EUR 315 billion in additional investments in the real economy by mid-2018, having already reached more than EUR 100 billion in new investments.

To ensure the benefits of economic growth are broadly shared and inequalities are reduced, the G20 will also continue implementing the Employment Plans with a particular focus on youth and women employment. We will consider actions to facilitate entrepreneurship, promote decent work, foster apprenticeships and equip workers with the right skills.

3.  Pushing forward the work on international tax transparency and combatting the financing of terrorism

The G20 should reiterate its call on all countries and jurisdictions to start exchanging information under the Global Standard on the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) with all interested partners by 2018 at the latest; to adhere to the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters; and to join the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Inclusive Framework. The Anti-Tax Avoidance Package finalised in June and the next steps prepared to respond to the problems exposed in the 'Panama Papers' put the EU at the forefront of this agenda. We need strong international criteria to identify non-cooperative jurisdictions to provide a solid basis to the broader EU common list to be adopted by end 2017. After the summit, the next milestone will be the Global Forum's proposals on beneficial ownership in cooperation with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

We need to stand together in combatting the financing of terrorism. The G20 has already taken important steps in this direction, and should continue on this path. We will encourage the FATF to fully implement its strategy to combat terrorism financing, and take steps to enhance the effectiveness of the network of FATF and FATF-style regional bodies.

4.  We need a resilient international monetary and financial system

Financial regulatory reform needs to remain high on the G20 agenda. The intended refinements of the Basel III framework need to be subject to a thorough impact analysis and capital requirements must not be significantly increased in any of the major regions of the world. The work of the Basel Committee, which has our support, should conclude by the end of 2016 to ensure regulatory certainty. On central counterparties we now need to push forward on the resolution framework. The G20 should also make a sound analysis of the combined effects of the agreed financial reforms to ensure their consistency with G20's overall objectives. The consistent implementation of Total Loss Absorption Capacity, effective cooperation in the event of cross-border resolution and the finalisation of the over-the-counter derivatives reforms remain priorities.

As regards the international financial architecture, it is particularly important that Leaders reaffirm their commitment to maintaining a strong and adequately resourced International Monetary Fund equipped with an effective toolbox. 

5.   The G20 must make the case for open trade and investment

The G20 will discuss how to reverse the slowdown in the growth of trade and foreign investment. This means reinvigorating efforts to open markets and level the playing field, and to communicate the benefits of trade to citizens while addressing their concerns. The G20 has a particular responsibility to buttress the multilateral trading system. It should therefore provide genuine guidance for the future global trade and investment agenda. The pledge to resist protectionism should not only be renewed but reinforced in practice. Urgent and effective action is needed to cut overcapacity in the steel and other sectors, including by tackling subsidies and other market-distorting measures that have contributed to it. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement should be ratified this year and fully implemented. It is also time to open up discussions in the WTO to new issues such as digital trade, investment or export restrictions. As a first step towards greater policy coherence in the area of investment, we will endorse the G20 Guiding Principles for Global Investment Policy-making.

Moreover, the G20 should recognize the valuable contribution to trade liberalisation and rule-making of WTO-consistent plurilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements. We expect the G20 to give a strong push for concluding the Environmental Goods Agreement in 2016, which will be good not only for global economic growth but also for the environment.

6.   Taking forward the implementation of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change

The summit will endorse a G20 Action Plan on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development outlining the collective contributions of the G20 to poverty reduction and sustainable development. It is also an important occasion to sustain momentum for swift ratification and implementation of the Paris Agreement. The G20 should continue work on green and climate finance, sustainable energy, and phase out of inefficient fossil fuels subsidies. It should also support reaching agreements this year on an effective global market-based mechanism to stabilise international aviation emissions in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and to phase down hydrofluorocarbon emissions under the Montreal Protocol.

We are resolved to ensure that the Hangzhou summit will be another important milestone in strengthening the global economic recovery. The EU looks forward to discussing key international challenges with its G20 partners in Hangzhou.

Tuesday 30 August 2016
Phone calls with Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa and Cyprus President Níkos Anastasiádis
13.00 Meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (Berlaymont)

Wednesday 31 August 2016
Phone calls with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković
10.00 Meeting with Prime Minister of Belgium Charles Michel (Val Duchesse)
Paris
18.30 Meeting with President François Hollande

Thursday 1 September 2016
Phone call with Slovenian Prime Minister Miror Cerar
Luxembourg
12.15 Meeting with Prime Minister Xavier Bettel followed by press statements

Friday 2 September 2016
Phone calls with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern
11.30 Meeting with Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico (photo opportunity)

Sunday 4 September 2016
G20 summit -Hangzhou, China
(local time)
12.00 Press briefing by President Donald Tusk and President Jean-Claude Juncker
15.00 Official welcome by President Xi Jinping
15.15 Family photo
15.30 Opening ceremony
15.40 Working session I
18:30 Official greeting by President Xi and his spouse
18:50 Family photo - leaders and spouses

Monday 5 September 2016
G20 summit - Hangzhou, China
(local time)
10.00 Working sessions
15.35 Intervention at session V
17.05 Closing ceremony

I would like to offer my deepest condolences to Italy for the loss of life and destruction caused by the devastating earthquake in central Italy. As the situation continues to unfold, my thoughts are with those affected, the families of those who have lost their lives, those desperately waiting for news and those injured. My heartfelt thanks for those who are involved in the rescue operations.  

I stand ready to do everything in my power to help the Italian authorities and the Italian people at this time of grief and suffering.

The EU strongly condemns the escalation of violence in Aleppo, the continuous bombardments and the sieges that have put the lives of hundreds of thousands of Syrians in further danger and is hindering the efforts of the international community both to provide humanitarian aid and to support a political solution to the conflict. Recalling that the Syrian authorities have the primary responsibility for the protection of its people, the EU strongly condemns all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure and the excessive and disproportionate attacks by the Syrian regime. 

The EU believes that a Syrian led political transition, as supported by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), endorsed unanimously by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and agreed in talks convened by the United Nations, is the only way of putting an end to more than five years of conflict in Syria. The EU will continue to do all in its power to ensure the full implementation of the Geneva Communiqué and relevant UNSC Resolutions. There is no military solution to the war and the ongoing escalation of violence has seriously put at risk the success of this process. 

The EU supports the ISSG co-chairs and the UN Special Representative in their efforts to create the conditions for restarting intra-Syrian talks in Geneva as soon as possible. The EU stands ready to fully and actively support these negotiations in close coordination with Staffan de Mistura and the two ISSG Co-chairs. 

Therefore, the EU and its Member States call for: 

- an immediate halt to the fighting in Aleppo to allow medical evacuations, deliveries of aid and repairing of essential water and electricity infrastructure. Humanitarian operations in Aleppo must serve a humanitarian purpose and fully comply with international humanitarian principles and standards. They cannot be part of any military strategy; 

- all parties to the conflict to restore the cessation of hostilities, ensure the lifting of all sieges and allow sustained, countrywide humanitarian access to those in need; 

- all international actors to abide by the commitments of the ISSG meeting of 17 May 2016.

There will be no peace in Syria without a genuine political transition which is inclusive and representative of all Syrians. Once this transition has begun, the EU and its Member States will be in a position to provide immediate support to Syria's reconstruction and also to help the return of refugees and the internally displaced to their communities.

The Candidate Countries Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, Montenegro* and Albania*, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia align themselves with this Declaration.

*The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

On 30 August 2016, Vincenzo Tagliaferri, a senior police officer from Italy, was appointed head of the EU civil mission in Libya, EUBAM Libya. He will take up his duties on 1 September 2016. He takes over from Antti Juhani Hartikainen. 

As part of the EU's comprehensive approach to support the transition to a democratic, stable and prosperous Libya, EUBAM Libya is mandated to plan for a possible future EU mission providing advice and capacity-building in the area of criminal justice, migration, border security and counter-terrorism. 

The decision was taken by the Political and Security Committee.

President Tusk has started to consult the leaders to prepare the informal meeting at 27 in Bratislava on 16 September. His intention is to consult all leaders ahead of the meeting with a view to discussing both its handling and substance. A number of meetings have been scheduled and confirmed for August and September including the working dinner with Chancellor Merkel. Other confirmed meetings include President Hollande, PM Bettel, PM Kenny, PM May, PM Kučinskis, President Grybauskaitė, PM Rõivas, PM Löfven, PM Muscat, PM Rajoy and PM Orban.