The Council has agreed to additional funding by the European Investment Bank for projects outside the EU that address migration issues.
Up to €3.7 billion would be earmarked for projects that address the root causes of migration and the needs of transit and host communities.
On 5 April 2017, EU ambassadors asked the presidency to start negotiations with the European Parliament. They approved a mandate for the negotiations, on behalf of the Council.
A first 'trilogue' meeting with the Parliament and the Commission is scheduled for 12 April 2017.
"I have no doubt that on this issue we can come to a swift agreement with the European Parliament”, said Edward Scicluna, minister for finance of Malta, which currently holds the Council presidency. “We both agree that the needs are great and urgent. We also hope we can do more through other EU programmes. This week's informal Ecofin in Malta will explore these possibilities."
Ambassadors agreed in principle to:
The proposed decision and regulation are part of a mid-term review of the EIB's external lending mandate. In 2014 it was agreed that the €3 billion could only be activated following the review.
Projects outside the EU represent less than 10% of total EIB financing activities.
The proposals require a qualified majority within the Council, in agreement with the Parliament. (Legal basis: articles 209 and 212 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.)
A pesar de que existe un interés común, una mayor cooperación entre Rusia y Occidente (EEUU, la UE, la OTAN) en la lucha contra el terrorismo islámico no sólo improbable sino imposible.
Experts in Countering Improvised Explosive Devices (C-IED) from 12 participating EDA Member States gathered in Larnaca (Cyprus) from 29 to 31 March under the auspices of the European Defence Agency (EDA). It was already the 22nd meeting of the C-IED group which is one of the most active EDA project teams.
Currently ongoing projects, in particular EDA’s Joint Deployable Exploitation and Analysis Laboratory (JDEAL) or the planned European Centre for Manual Neutralization capabilities (ECMAN), were the main topics. Chaired by Italy and hosted by the Cyprus Ministry of Defence, the C-IED project team took the opportunity to discuss other potential activities to be undertaken in 2017 and 2018 to further improve participating Member States’ capabilities in the C-IED domain.
Participants at the meeting also shared views on upcoming C-IED related events such as the planned delivery of the second JDEAL deployable capability end of May or a military working dogs training event to be hosted by The Netherlands in September 2017. The recent delivery of the C-IUSAT tool to participating EDA Member States and the outcome of the DEMO meeting held at the EDA facilities on 24 March were also discussed.
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