European Parliamentary Research Service Blog

Written by Maria Niestadt.

The governance of the internet has been a topic of debate since its creation. The internet is not governed by a centralised entity, but rather by a decentralised patchwork of stakeholders, including national governments, the private sector, the technical community and civil society. They work together in various internet governance bodies, such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Several United Nations specialised agencies, in particular the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), also participate in internet governance. The ITU manages resources that are critical for wireless services worldwide, for example.

It has long been debated whether governments should have a central role in internet governance or whether various stakeholders should be equally responsible for formulating principles, rules and procedures for the internet. The EU is a strong supporter of the multi-stakeholder approach to internet governance. This approach incorporates the views of a variety of stakeholders, including governments, businesses, technical communities and civil society on an equal footing. Not all actors share this view, however. China and Russia in particular believe that states should have a greater role in deciding on the content, operations and norms of the internet within their borders. China has also proposed to change the internet’s protocol design.

The EU is a strong defender of an open, free and unfragmented internet that remains a singular, decentralised network of networks. This vision contrasts with the more controlled approaches of some non-EU states that limit their citizens’ access to certain internet content and monitor citizens’ online activities. Private companies can also be an obstacle to the openness and unity of the internet when they develop their own physical infrastructure and protocols.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Internet governance: Keeping the internet open, free and unfragmented‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Ralf Drachenberg.

The last European Council meeting of 2024 will be the first to be prepared and chaired by the institution’s new President, António Costa. The agenda has a heavy external relations component, including, besides Ukraine, a strategic discussion on the ‘EU in the world’. This exchange over dinner, not designed to lead to written conclusions, will cover transatlantic relations, EU-UK relations and enlargement. In addition, EU leaders will discuss the situation in the Middle East and developments in Moldova and Georgia. Other items on the agenda include migration and readiness for future crises. The European Council meeting will be preceded by an EU-Western Balkans Summit on 18 December.

1.     EU-Western Balkans Summit

The EU-Western Balkans Summit is scheduled for the evening before the European Council meeting, on 18 December. At the summit, leaders will discuss: (i) implementation of the growth plan; (ii) regional integration efforts; (iii) further integration possibilities; and (iv) shared geopolitical challenges. In preparation for the meeting, President Costa had an informal dinner with the leaders of the Western Balkan countries on 3 December, also attended by the Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, and the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy/Vice‑President (HR/VP), Kaja Kallas. After the dinner, Costa tweeted: ‘The future of the Western Balkans is in the EU. Let’s work to make it happen’.

2.     European Council meeting General

Following the customary opening address by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, an in-person discussion with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is envisaged. As usual at the end of every 6-month presidency of the Council of the EU, the 19 December European Council meeting will conclude with a report by the Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, on the achievements of the Hungarian Presidency.

Before taking over the European Council presidency on 1 December, António Costa announced that he wanted to introduce a number of changes to the European Council’s working methods. His aim is to improve interinstitutional relations, shorten European Council meetings and close the gap between Europe’s citizens and the EU institutions. He appears to be off to a promising start. After a first meeting with the presidents of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on 2 December, Costa attended the European Parliament’s Conference of Presidents meeting on 11 December. His invitation letter to the European Council meeting was sent 2 weeks ahead, contrasting with the last-minute missives of his predecessor. In line with the aim of shortening the European Council meetings, this first meeting is scheduled to last 1 day only.

Costa has also published a new leaders’ agenda for the European Council, setting out a work programme for the European Council for the whole of 2025, whereas the most recent editions issued by former President Charles Michel often only covered a couple of months. A first observation is that Ukraine and the Middle East will be on the agenda of the European Council at each meeting in 2025 for ‘as long as needed’. Moreover, the topics that were salient in the European Council in 2024 – and highlighted as priorities in the 2024-2029 strategic agenda, notably competitiveness, security and defence, and migration – also feature prominently on the agenda for 2025. However, the leaders’ agenda also envisages working sessions on topics that are rarely discussed by EU Heads of State or Government, such as oceans and housing. Regarding the latter, Costa most likely wants to make good on his promise to discuss ‘the problems of the citizens’.

Another innovation is Costa’s suggestion that the European Council should join the other EU institutions in the Interinstitutional Ethics Body, which will thereby also cover the position of the European Council President himself. If this proposal is confirmed by EU leaders, former European Council President Herman Van Rompuy will represent the European Council in this body.

Since the change at the helm, there also seems to be new impetus in the area of justice and home affairs. The Council has approved the ‘strategic guidelines for legislative and operational planning within the area of freedom, security and justice’, which, according to Article 68 TFEU, need to be adopted by the European Council for each institutional cycle. For the last 5 years, the European Council did not comply with this Treaty obligation; EU leaders should now endorse the guidelines.

Ukraine

On his first day as President of the European Council, Costa was in Kyiv and held meetings with Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, Speaker of the Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, followed by a joint press conference with the latter. Costa continued the messaging often reiterated by the European Council, emphasising that ‘we will stand with you for as long as necessary and whatever it takes. We stand firmly on the side of your right to self-defence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. And we will do our utmost to see you in the European Union as a free European nation as soon as possible’.

EU leaders are expected to emphasise that Russia must not win the war, and to call for increased efforts to help Ukraine, particularly in terms of air defence systems, ammunition and missiles. At the 19 November Foreign Affairs Council meeting, it was announced that the EU had almost reached the target of delivering 1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine – a target that should have been met 8 months ago. In view of past delays, EU leaders could discuss the importance of strengthening Ukraine’s own defence industry and deepening its cooperation with the EU defence industry. The European Council is likely to call for efforts to strengthen the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine and for the decisions taken under the European Peace Facility (EPC) to be implemented. Reportedly, Hungary continues to refuse to participate in the proposal on voluntary contributions to the EPC.

The European Council is likely to welcome the 15th package of sanctions against Russia, which was adopted by the Council on 16 December. It may also reiterate previous calls for sanctions to be fully and effectively enforced. In addition, EU leaders are likely to condemn any support provided to Russia by third countries, namely military support from Iran and North Korea as well as the deployment of North Korean soldiers to Russia in order to participate in the war against Ukraine. EU leaders will condemn Russia’s continued attacks against civilian and energy infrastructure. They will also most likely call for extra support to keep Ukraine’s energy infrastructure running and for further integration of the Ukrainian and Moldovan systems in the EU’s energy network.

EU in the world

In his invitation letter, Costa announced that the EU’s engagement with the world would be the second core theme of the December meeting. EU leaders are to hold a ‘comprehensive and strategic discussion’ on the subject over dinner, but without agreeing on written conclusions. Costa has also highlighted three main topics for that strategic discussion. Enlargement, as ‘the main geopolitical investment we can make in our neighbourhood’, will be one of them, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia having given new impetus to the enlargement debate. The topic, which was not mentioned at all in the 2019-2024 Strategic Agenda, was given a prominent place in the 2024-2029 Strategic Agenda, which describes enlargement as ‘a geostrategic investment in peace, security, stability and prosperity‘. At the December meeting, EU leaders may discuss both aspects of the enlargement debate: the external aspect (the progress, or backsliding, of applicant states) and the internal aspect (the internal reforms announced at the June 2024 European Council meeting).

Transatlantic relations will also be part of the discussion on the EU in the world. The December European Council meeting will be the first formal meeting since Donald Trump’s election, and the last before he is sworn in for his second term as President of the United States. EU leaders are likely to discuss what his presidency will entail for European security and defence, and for the EU economy, and how best to work with the Trump administration on matters of interest to both sides. They might also follow up on EU foreign ministers’ recent discussion on EU-US relations, and its implications for Ukraine and the Middle East.

The third topic EU leaders will discuss over dinner are post-Brexit relations between the EU and the United Kingdom, which have improved since the Labour party came into government in July 2024. Two weeks after the UK election, at the European Political Community meeting in Oxfordshire, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer made it clear that he wanted to reset the EU-UK relationship. The war in Ukraine and the unknowns brought about by the upcoming Trump presidency have led the EU and the UK to be increasingly open to cooperation in the area of security and defence. In October 2024, the British Foreign Secretary attended a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers on shared security challenges facing Europe. In a joint statement, the HR/VP and the UK Foreign Secretary emphasised the importance of regular exchanges and the need to be close partners in security and defence. The EU and the UK are reportedly working on a joint security pact.

Middle East

EU leaders will reiterate calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, improved humanitarian access to Gaza, and the EU’s commitment to peace based on the two-state solution. They may also emphasise their commitment to providing humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable in the Middle East, notably in Gaza, where extreme food shortages have been reported. As regards Lebanon, the ceasefire agreement brokered between Israel and Hezbollah in November has been violated on numerous occasions. Thus, EU leaders may call on all parties to respect the ceasefire and work towards lasting peace in Lebanon.

EU leaders are also expected to address the situation in Syria. After an offensive launched by rebel groups on 27 November, the regime was toppled and deposed President Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow. In a tweet, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob stated that he was looking forward to discussing with EU leaders ways of helping the Syrian people and achieving a ‘dignified, secure, and stable future’. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk pointed to the links between Russia and the Assad regime, and others expressed concerns about the transition and the protection of civilians.

Given that one of the main rebel groups, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly had links to Al-Qaida and Islamic State (Da’esh), EU leaders are expected to discuss how the EU should interact (or not) with the new powers in Syria. Even if HTS’s leader, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani/Ahmed al-Sharaa, has promised that Syrians, including minorities, will be safe, the stability of Syria and security of religious/ethnic groups is a matter of concern. In that context, EU leaders may discuss whether it is safe to return Syrians who have sought refuge in the EU since 2011. Some EU countries have halted the processing of Syrian asylum applications; the Austrian Interior Minister has even been preparing a repatriation and deportation programme. Conversely, Spain has said it will continue to process asylum applications. Thus, EU leaders are likely to discuss the implications of developments in Syria for security in the broader Middle East.

Resilience, preparedness, crisis prevention and response

EU leaders will discuss the report by the former President of Finland and Special Adviser to the President of the European Commission, Sauli Niinistö, on how to enhance the EU’s civilian and military preparedness and its readiness for future crises. Reflecting the changing geopolitical environment, the report follows the same logic seen in the 2024-2029 Strategic Agenda, building on an integrated approach to internal and external policies that links the internal and external aspects of security and economic policy. The report presents around 80 recommendations for short-, medium- and long-term actions, to help guide upcoming Commission initiatives, notably the ‘Preparedness Union’ strategy and the white paper on the future of European defence.

Migration

The main aim of the discussion on migration is for EU leaders to review the implementation of the previous European Council conclusions from the October 2024 meeting. The discussion will be informed by a letter from the European Commission President providing an overview of recent and upcoming activities. The two most concrete areas of activity concern returns and cooperation with third countries. On the former, the Commission is expected to present, within the first 100 days of the new Commission’s term, a proposal for a directive on returning third-country nationals who are staying illegally in the EU. On the latter, a series of memoranda of understanding for comprehensive partnership packages with third countries of origin and transit – following the model of the EU‑Tunisia agreement and the strategic and comprehensive partnership between Egypt and the EU – are currently being prepared with Lebanon, Mali, Niger, Chad, Nigeria and Ethiopia.

EU leaders might also continue their discussions on ‘innovative solutions’, notably return hubs, and possibly try to anticipate the impact of the situation in Syria on migration flows from that area. However, the conclusions on migration are expected to be rather short.

External relations

EU leaders may congratulate Moldova on the running of its presidential elections and of the referendum, despite Russian attempts to undermine the democratic process. They may also reiterate their support for Moldova on its European path and for its territorial integrity. Echoing the joint statement by leading MEPs, the European Council may express its regret about the Georgian government’s decision to halt the country’s EU accession process until 2028. Georgians took to the streets to protest against the decision, and EU leaders may condemn the violence against these protestors by the Georgian authorities.

Read this briefing on ‘Outlook for the EU leaders’ meetings on 18-19 December 2024‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Rebecca Torpey.

In May 2024, former European Parliament President Pat Cox described enlargement as perhaps the ‘EU’s most powerful, transformative and successful policy tool over the past five decades’. The European Council (EU heads of state or government) has, from the outset, played a central role in the EU’s enlargement process, shaping both formal and informal aspects. The Lisbon Treaty formally tasked the institution with defining the eligibility conditions to be applied to the accession process.

Each enlargement round has provided the Member States and EU institutions with the opportunity to reflect on the conditions of entry and on the impact on the functioning of the EU institutions. This has resulted in the more refined enlargement policy we have today, with the Copenhagen criteria set by the European Council in 1993 as core principles and, on that basis, a fine-tuned methodology for negotiations, adopted in 2020. This briefing will consider some of the challenges facing EU enlargement, look at the European Council’s current role in the process and demonstrate the historical evolution of the European Council’s involvement in enlargement.

Read the complete briefing on ‘The European Council and enlargement‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Clare Ferguson with Gemma Patterson.

The final plenary session of 2024 takes place in Strasbourg from 16 December. For the first time, Kaja Kallas will attend as High Representative, and there is a full agenda of foreign policy issues on which Members will want to hear from her, in particular the recent collapse of the Syrian dictatorship, and the crackdown on pro-European demonstrators in Georgia. Members will also debate preparation for the year’s final European Council on 19 December 2024.

The first highlight is the award of the Sakharov Prize on Tuesday lunchtime. The prize celebrates those who defend fundamental freedoms and human rights, in often very difficult circumstances. This year, President Roberta Metsola is expected to award the prize to María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia, leaders of Venezuela’s democratic opposition, recognised by Parliament as the Venezuelan people’s democratically chosen leaders, contrary to the oppressive regime of Nicolás Maduro.

It has been a year of change at the top of the EU institutions and on Tuesday Members are expected to elect the next Ombudsman, to hold the office for the 2024-2029 term. Six candidates from across the EU are in the running, including human rights experts, former judges, and regional ombudsmen. Under the current incumbent, Emily O’Reilly, the role of the European Ombudsman has seen important changes, with a new statute in place. The previous evening, Parliament is set to debate a Committee on Petitions (PETI) report that proposes Members approve the European Ombudsman’s 2023 activity report. The report highlights key issues, including transparency, accountability, and ethical concerns. The 2023 Ombudsman’s report notes 393 complaint-based inquiries were opened and that the Ombudsman tackled systemic issues through five own-initiative inquiries, further cementing the role in promoting good administration.

Investor-State dispute settlement, used to resolve disputes in international investment agreements, has long been criticised for its opacity. The 2014 United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Mauritius Convention addresses the transparency issue by mandating public access to proceedings and documents, bolstering legitimacy and public trust. While the rules apply to post-2014 agreements, the convention would extend their scope to earlier treaties. The EU sees the convention as a key step toward modernising the process. The Committee on International Trade (INTA) recommends Parliament give consent to the EU’s conclusion of the convention, with a debate on conclusion of the Mauritius Convention set for Monday evening.

Romania recently annulled its presidential elections due to foreign interference linked to disinformation campaigns. Intelligence reports revealed thousands of accounts, many associated with foreign influence, amplifying political messaging. Following a Commission statement on the situation in Romania on Tuesday afternoon, Parliament plans to debate measures to ensure that online platforms conform to the rules under the Digital Services Act, as well as strengthen EU resilience against election interference.

Parliament is also set to debate EU priorities on gender equality on Thursday. Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) has prepared a draft recommendation urging the EU to lead by example on addressing gender-based violence, ensuring healthcare access, promoting gender equality in decision-making, and applying gender mainstreaming across policies, ahead of the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The session will mark the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted by 189 countries in 1995, which provides a global roadmap for gender equality.

On Thursday morning, Parliament is scheduled to debate the need to update the EU’s 2021-2030 disability rights strategy, to focus on new initiatives for 2025-2030. While progress has been made on accessibility, employment, and inclusion through flagship action like the Disability Employment Package and the AccessibleEU resource centre, challenges remain for disability rights in areas including poverty, education, housing, and healthcare.

Climate-related disasters are recurring increasingly often in Europe. To speed up the EU’s support for those affected, Members are set to debate the RESTORE regional emergency support proposal on Monday evening. The proposal seeks to allow EU countries to re-programme up to €17.7 billion from EU cohesion policy funds for disaster relief and reconstruction. This includes financing reconstruction work by up to 100 %, with 30 % pre-financing to allow funds to be made available immediately.

Following a statement from the European Commission on Wednesday afternoon, Members are expected to debate measures to improve working conditions and mental wellbeing for farmers and agricultural workers. Farmers face significantly higher risks at work than in other sectors, with fatality rates at 233 % above average and elevated stress leading to higher suicide rates. Parliament has already called for improved working conditions in the sector, particularly for those working in remote regions.

Access to clean drinking water is a fundamental right long championed by Parliament, but water scarcity, microplastics and other contaminants persist in the EU. Updated EU rules under the Drinking Water Directive aim to enhance water quality, monitor emerging substances, and improve access for vulnerable groups, with stricter per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substance (PFAS) limits taking effect by 2026. Members are expected to debate the right to clean drinking water on Monday.

• Laureates of the 2024 Sakharov Prize: María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia, fighting for democracy in Venezuela
• Election of the European Ombudsman
• Mis- and disinformation on social media and related risks to election integrity
• Updating the European strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities
• Improving EU farmers’ and agricultural workers’ working conditions and mental well-being
• Activities of the European Ombudsman: 2023 annual report
• Right to clean drinking water in the EU
• Regional emergency support for reconstruction 
• EU priorities for the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women 
• EU conclusion of the UN Mauritius Convention 

Written by Alina Dobreva with Anastasiia Vozovych.

Since the start of the Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU has provided Ukraine with financial, military and humanitarian support on an unprecedented level, including macro-financial assistance, financial support via the Ukraine Facility, humanitarian aid and military assistance from its Member States and through the European Peace Facility.

Regulation (EU) 2024/2773 provides for a new macro-financial assistance loan for Ukraine and establishes a Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism (ULCM). That loan and the ULCM are part of a G7 initiative adopted at the G7 summit in Apulia in June 2024 to support Ukraine with loans of up to US$50 billion (€45 billion).

The purpose of the G7 initiative is to provide Ukraine with sufficient and continuous financial support to address the immediate needs inflicted on the country by Russia’s ongoing aggression. The ULCM will provide Ukraine with non-repayable financial support to assist it in repaying loans provided by G7 partners. Given the urgent nature of Ukraine’s financing needs, the MFA will be available in 2024.

According to the annex to the final agreement between G7 finance ministers of 25 October 2024, the EU’s share of the G7 loan will be €18.115 billion. Extraordinary revenues originating from Russian sovereign assets immobilised in the G7 member states will be used to repay those loans and the associated interest costs. The ULCM will collect the extraordinary revenues and use them to repay the loans.

The European Parliament adopted the proposal on 22 October 2024 and Regulation (EU) 2024/2773 entered into force on 29 October 2024.

Read the complete briefing on ‘The Ukraine Loan Cooperation Mechanism and exceptional macro-financial assistance‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Micaela Del Monte with Titouan Faucheux.

Media freedom and pluralism are among the rights enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (Article 11) and the European Convention on Human Rights (Article 10), together with freedom of expression and information. The EU is actively engaged in protecting the independence and safety of journalists, as a crucial component in the proper democratic functioning of its institutions and Member States.

Nevertheless, in recent years an increasing number of attacks and threats against journalists have been documented and reported in Europe. Physical attacks against journalists as well as online threats and harassment in reprisal for journalists’ work are on the rise in several EU Member States. Around the world, the number of dead and wounded journalists is still too high, as is the number of journalists who are detained, imprisoned and mistreated.

The most recent Council of Europe assessment of press freedom in Europe reports that war remains a threat to press freedom and the safety of media workers. In total 18 journalists have been killed in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Reporters without Borders confirms that the situation is particularly dangerous for journalists, who are sometimes deliberately targeted by military fire despite displaying ‘Press’ identification. Correspondents for foreign outlets are also targeted and some of them become victims of ‘hostage diplomacy’, as was the case of the Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich.

Over the years, the European Parliament has called consistently for action to ensure the safety of journalists, both inside and outside armed conflict zones; it has stressed the crucial mission of journalists in gathering and disseminating reliable information about armed conflicts; and it has underlined the importance of ensuring journalists’ safe access to areas in which conflicts or human rights abuses are taking place.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Protection of journalists in the European Union‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Listen to podcast ‘Protection of journalists in the European Union‘ on YouTube.

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Written by Naja Bentzen.

In recent decades, the digital information sphere has become the public space for debate: the place where people access information, and form and express opinions. Over the past 10 years, global information ecosystems have also increasingly become geostrategic battlegrounds. Authoritarian state actors are testing and fine-tuning techniques to manipulate public opinion and foment divisions and tension, to undermine democratic societies and open democracy as a system.

At the same time, the geostrategic rivalry overlaps more and more with corporate geopolitics: the digital information sphere has become a contested territory for large corporations competing fiercely to lead the development and roll-out of new technologies – with artificial intelligence (AI) as a game changer in this quest. These innovations come with risks: information manipulation campaigns facilitated by generative AI magnify threats to democratic information ecosystems.

Strategic and systemic pressures on the open information environment are set to increase. This makes efforts to uphold universal values in the digital information environment – values such as human rights and, in particular, freedom of expression – even more essential.

The increased focus on information integrity by multilateral organisations makes room for coordinating actions to boost the resilience of information ecosystems more broadly, safeguarding human rights. This concept ties in with key parts of the work planned under the future ‘European democracy shield’. The broad scope of information integrity covers a number of activities that are already under way in the EU – including measures and legislation launched in recent years – and offers new paths for coalitions and partnerships.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Information integrity online and the European democracy shield‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Anja Radjenovic.

The safe third country (STC) concept is well established in international asylum policies. According to the concept, certain migrants should not be granted protection in the country where they have applied for it. Instead, they may be returned, or transferred, to a country where they could have found, or can find, international protection. Amid ongoing EU-level discussions on safe third country rules, in 2018 the United Nations Refugee Agency developed legal considerations on safe third countries.

Within the framework of the body of EU law on asylum, the STC concept is based on the assumption that certain third (i.e. non-EU) countries can be designated as safe for applicants seeking international protection, under specific conditions. The concept builds on cooperation with third countries in a bid to reduce irregular arrivals and increase return rates. It seeks to speed up the processing of the claims of asylum applicants arriving from safe third countries, to prevent overburdening national asylum systems.

The recently adopted Asylum Procedure Regulation provides for broader applicability of safe country clauses. This concerns, in particular, four aspects: (i) the safety assessment when applying the STC concept; (ii) interpretation of the ‘connection requirement’, i.e. the connection between an asylum seeker and a third country, when readmitting an applicant to a designated STC; (iii) the option to designate a third country as safe with territorial limitations or to exclude certain vulnerable groups from such a designation; and (iv) the creation of a common EU list of STCs in addition to national lists.

The success of any STC scheme relies on third countries’ cooperation, something that can be challenging to obtain. To counter criticisms of burden shifting and to boost the viability of STC schemes, the EU must demonstrate solidarity through burden sharing. Furthermore, many potentially safe third countries lack asylum laws and administrative frameworks. Consequently, they would likely require substantial support from external partners.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Safe third country concept in the EU pact on migration and asylum‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Tarja Laaninen.

The European Union now has its first ever Commissioner dedicated to Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef. He has been specifically tasked by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with preparing a ‘strategy on intergenerational fairness’ that takes fully into consideration the impact of today’s decisions on future generations, and seeks feedback from all age groups. Micallef says he will ‘attach particular importance to instilling a true and lasting culture of participatory democracy that applies to all ages, including senior citizens’.

The momentum for this kind of thinking is growing. In September 2024, world leaders convened at the United Nations in New York for a ‘Summit of the Future’, and committed to fostering intergenerational dialogue and ensuring youth participation in national and international forums. Addressing humanity’s most pressing challenges demands the engagement of all generations, as both younger and older people contribute their own unique knowledge, experience, and skills.

This briefing delves into the mechanisms already in place in the EU for listening to young people, and explores the incoming Commission’s plans for further engaging young people in decision‑making processes. From now on, for example, every Commissioner must organise an annual youth policy dialogue dealing with his or her area of competence. Additionally, as of 2025, all new initiatives in the Commission’s annual work programme that are of significant relevance for young people will undergo a specific ‘youth check’.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Intergenerational dialogue: Addressing future challenges and consulting young people in the EU‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Gemma Patterson.

The European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) is organising the fifth European Gender Equality Week from 9 to 13 December 2024. Events on the agenda cover how Parliament works to combat gender inequality within different policy sectors and different demographics. This year the week has a special focus on tackling gender inequality in the digital world. Women face growing danger in the digital space, driven by the spread of harmful technologies, disinformation and new forms of online abuse.

Gender equality in the EU is a long-established policy. Increasingly, however, a minority of actors oppose certain aspects, often perceiving gender equality as a zero-sum game that disempowers men. This raises the possibility that there is a need to clarify that EU policies benefit men as well, particularly through tools and data addressing health and education. For example, some EU countries face some of the world’s largest gender gaps in life expectancy and disparities exist between male and female students at post-secondary level. No country or region in the world has yet achieved all the UN sustainable development goals on gender equality.

The week begins with an exchange of views on gender mainstreaming in the EU budget, in conjunction with Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT). The EU adopted gender mainstreaming as its official approach to gender equality in 1997. Priorities were set in the EU’s gender equality strategy to achieve this, for instance by ending gender-based violence, and addressing the pay and pension gaps, gender balance in decision making positions at work and the gender care gap. However, despite these efforts, much change still needs to happen and Parliament is keen to advance legislation for a more just society for everyone. The European Parliament has previously advocated for binding gender provisions that should ensure trade agreements promote equality and empower women effectively.

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Beyond women’s roles in the workplace, it is essential to look at their broader participation in employment and focus on breaking down the barriers that hold them back. EU directives require Member States to establish equality bodies to support victims of discrimination and to combat inequality. Vague rules have caused disparities, with some bodies working with limited resources, independence or mandates. New legislation adopted in May 2024 seeks to strengthen the equality bodies, ensuring they are better equipped to address continued sex discrimination in employment.

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Although they form half the population, women remain under-represented in politics across the EU, despite the clear benefits of gender balance for society and governance. Political parties and media play dual roles as both obstacles and enablers of women’s political participation,  while those women who do succeed in a securing a seat are likely to be held to a higher level of scrutiny and criticism than their male counterparts. Only 39 % of elected Members in the 2024 elections to the European Parliament were women. One seldom-discussed barrier to more women entering politics is gendered violence. This takes multiple forms, from physical attacks to psychological and symbolic abuse, including sexual and sexist comments, online hate speech and sexual harassment.

Violence against women remains prevalent and omnipresent. One in three women in the EU have experienced physical violence, according to a recent survey. Gender-based violence against women encompasses physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence and can take many forms, including harassment, stalking, rape, female genital mutilation, domestic violence and femicide. The violence takes place within the family and intimate relationships, in the workplace, in public spaces and online. Currently, national protection is inconsistent and gaps persist in EU measures to combat this serious violation of rights and barrier to equality. In May 2024, the EU adopted a directive setting minimum standards to criminalise certain forms of such violence, enhance victim support, and improve prevention. Member States now have 3 years to implement these crucial measures.

Digital technologies have both amplified and repressed women’s rights. The digital world has empowered women to connect, share their experiences, and raise awareness about issues such as abuse, as seen with movements like #MeToo. At the same time, it has given abusers and misogynists new tools to amplify harmful content on an unprecedented scale. Recognising the harm of digital violence, the EU has implemented legislation to tackle it, this includes the Directive on Combating Violence against Women, which criminalises serious forms of cyberviolence, and the Digital Services Act, which mandates the removal of harmful content, content that disproportionately affects women. The internet has also become a central tool in facilitating human trafficking, enabling traffickers to recruit, control, and exploit victims through digital means. Europol highlights that adult females in EU Member States are the primary victims of online human trafficking, practices often referred to as ‘cyber slavery’, creating a new set of dangerous circumstances and ways for women to be exploited.

Further reading

• Topical Digest November 2024

Written by Ionel Zamfir and Colin Murphy.

The rise of digital technologies represents a double-edged sword for women’s rights. On the one hand, the digital environment has enabled women to build networks and spread awareness about the abuse they suffer, such as through the #Metoo movement. On the other, it has provided abusers and misogynists with new tools with which they can spread their harmful content on an unprecedented scale. With the development of artificial intelligence, these trends, both positive and negative, are expected to continue.

Against this backdrop, it has become clear that digital violence is as harmful as offline violence and needs to be tackled with the full force of the law, as well as through other non-legislative measures. Moreover, the digital content causing the harm – images, messages, etc. – needs to be erased. This is particularly important, as the impact on victims is profound and long-lasting.

The European Union has adopted several pieces of legislation that aim to make a difference in this respect. The directive on combating violence against women, to be implemented at the latest by June 2027, sets minimum EU standards for criminalising several serious forms of cyberviolence and enhances the protection of and access to justice for victims.

EU legislation on the protection of privacy is also having an impact on cyberviolence. For example, the new Digital Services Act imposes an obligation on big digital platforms in the EU to remove harmful content from their websites. This is instrumental in removing intimate or manipulated images that are disseminated on the internet without the person’s consent; almost all such images portray women, according to existing data.

Member States use a multiplicity of legal approaches to tackle this issue, combining criminalisation of specific cyber offences with the use of general criminal law. In some Member States, an explicit gender dimension is also included.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Cyberviolence against women in the EU‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Marc Jütten.

Respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights is a core value of the European Union (EU), and one that is promoted through its policies. The European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize honours the work of people who stand up for these freedoms and rights. This year’s Sakharov Prize is to be awarded to María Corina Machado, leader of Venezuela’s democratic forces, and President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia. They represent all Venezuelans both inside and outside the country who are fighting to restore freedom and democracy. The Sakharov Prize award ceremony will take place during the European Parliament’s December plenary session.

Significance of the Sakharov Prize

The European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is the highest tribute paid by the EU to human rights work. Every year since 1988, Parliament has awarded the Sakharov Prize to individuals or organisations for their outstanding achievements in defending human rights and fundamental freedoms. Past prize winners have included Nelson Mandela, Alexei Navalny and Malala Yousafzai. The prize is named after Andrei Sakharov, the eminent Soviet Russian nuclear physicist, dissident, human rights activist and 1975 Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Award procedure and the 2024 Sakharov Prize finalists and laureates

A political group, or at least 40 Members of the Parliament, can nominate a candidate for the Sakharov Prize each year. From the list of nominees, three finalists are shortlisted in a joint vote by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Development and the Subcommittee on Human Rights. The three finalists for the 2024 Sakharov Prize were (in alphabetical order): Dr Gubad Ibadoghlu, academic and anti-corruption activist in Azerbaijan; María Corina Machado, as leader of the democratic forces in Venezuela and President-elect Edmundo González Urrutia, representing all Venezuelans inside and outside the country fighting to restore freedom and democracy; and Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun, from Israel and Palestine respectively.

On 24 October 2024, Parliament’s Conference of Presidents decided to honour María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia with the 2024 Sakharov Prize. When announcing the decision, Parliament’s President, Roberta Metsola, commended Machado and Urrutia for continuing to fight for a fair, free and peaceful transition of power in Venezuela and for upholding justice, democracy and the rule of law fearlessly. The President stressed that the European Parliament stands with the people of Venezuela and with the laureates in their struggle for the democratic future of their country.

The fight to restore freedom and democracy in Venezuela

In 2018, Nicolás Maduro was re-elected in a presidential election that was contested by the international community (including the EU) as it failed to meet international standards and the outcome lacked legitimacy and credibility. In October 2023, the Maduro regime and the Unitary Platform, the alliance of Venezuelan opposition parties, met in Barbados and agreed to hold free and fair elections in 2024. María Corina Machado, who served as an elected member of the National Assembly of Venezuela from 2011 to 2014, stood out as one of the strongest and most critical voices of the regime. In the primary organised by the Unitary Platform on 22 October 2023, she was elected with 92.35 % of the vote to be the opposition’s candidate in the presidential election. Since then, Machado has been the image and symbol of the united Venezuelan opposition. However, breaching the Barbados agreement, the regime disqualified Machado from standing for election on arbitrary and politically motivated grounds. As a result, on 22 March 2024, Machado announced that Corina Yoris would be the presidential candidate. Ultimately, as the Maduro regime also prevented Yoris from registering, Edmundo González Urrutia, a former diplomat, became the democratic opposition’s presidential candidate.

Nicolás Maduro’s government did not allow an EU observation mission (EOM) into the country to oversee the 2024 presidential elections. However, reports from international election observation missions clearly state that the presidential election on 28 July did not meet international standards of electoral integrity at any of its stages, and cannot be considered democratic. It came as no surprise that the National Electoral Council of Venezuela (CNE) and the country’s highest court – both stacked with government loyalists – announced the victory of Maduro without publishing evidence. Maduro’s claimed victory has not been recognised by the Organization of American States, the United States, the EU or by key states in Latin America, such as Argentina, Brazil and Colombia. However, Russia and China (together with Cuba, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Honduras) were among the first to congratulate Maduro. The fact is that more than 80 per cent of voting tallies published by the opposition credibly demonstrate that Edmundo González Urrutia won the election with 67.08 % of the votes cast; this outcome was confirmed by the interim report of the United Nations (UN) Panel of Experts on the election. Following the election, María Corina Machado was forced to go into hiding for fear of reprisals from the regime. Edmundo González Urrutia had to flee the country and seek asylum in Spain on 8 September after an arrest warrant was issued against him.

Human rights situation in Venezuela

In October 2024, the UN’s independent international fact-finding mission on Venezuela released a report documenting a deeply worrying rise in human rights violations. The investigation documents multiple and increasing violations and crimes committed by the Venezuelan government, security forces and pro-government armed civilian groups before, during and after the July presidential vote. These violations include arbitrary detentions, torture, enforced disappearances and sexual violence – all of which are taking place as part of a coordinated plan to silence critics and perceived opponents. Among the victims are children, as well as people with disabilities.

Following the elections, the Maduro regime further increased its repression and intimidation to hold onto power by force and violence. At least 25 people were killed, hundreds were injured, and over 2 400 Venezuelans were arrested for exercising their fundamental right to freedom of expression. According to the UN Refugee Agency, 7.7 million Venezuelans have become refugees or displaced migrants since 2014. The vast majority of them – more than 6.5 million – are hosted in Latin American and Caribbean countries. This is one of the world’s biggest international displacement crises.

EU position on Venezuela

On 13 November 2017, the EU imposed targeted sanctions against Venezuela.They include an embargo on arms and on equipment for internal repression, a travel ban for the regime’s leaders, and an asset freeze on individuals and entities responsible for human rights violations and for undermining democracy and the rule of law in Venezuela. The sanctions were last extended until 10 January 2025. In 2019, the EU established an International Contact Group on Venezuela with the objective of working to facilitate conditions for a peaceful and democratic solution to the Venezuelan crisis. The EU deployed an EU electoral observation mission to observe Venezuela’s regional and local elections inNovember 2021.

Following the 2024 presidential election, EU leaders called on the Venezuelan authorities to respect the democratic will of the Venezuelan people, end the violence, repression and harassment against the opposition and civil society, and release all political prisoners.

European Parliament position

Parliament has adopted several resolutions on the situation in Venezuela in recent years. On 19 September 2024, Parliament recognised Edmundo González Urrutia as the legitimate and democratically elected President of Venezuela and María Corina Machado as the leader of the democratic forces in Venezuela.

This is not the first time Parliament has awarded its Sakharov Prize to the democratic opposition in Venezuela. In 2017, the prize was given to the political opponents of the Venezuelan government, including the National Assembly and all political prisoners, to reward their ‘continuing bravery in the pursuit of freedom and prosperity in Venezuela’.

Read this ‘at a glance’ note on ‘Laureates of the 2024 Sakharov Prize: María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia, fighting for democracy in Venezuela‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Györgyi Mácsai, Members’ Research Service (EPRS) with Raffaele Ventura, GlobalStat, EUI.

Our infographic provides an overview of the EAC countries’ economic and trade relations with the EU. All eight EAC states have experienced a relatively consistent increase in their GDP per capita (PPP) since 2007. All eight countries are in the lower half of the Human Development Index ranking. EU trade in goods (imports and exports) with the EAC has risen steadily comparatively to 2007 volumes. The EU’s leading trading partner for goods with the EAC is the Netherlands, while the primary partner in services is France. For the EAC region, the EU is the fourth trading partner.

Read this ‘infographic’ on ‘East African Community (EAC): Economic indicators and trade with EU‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Alessandro D’Alfonso, Martin Höflmayr and Giulio Sabbati.

The current economic context is a story of contrasts: the labour market continues to exceed expectations, with record employment, while inflation is nearing the 2 % target; meanwhile, subdued growth momentum is fuelling concern over the sustainability of high public debt. Despite extremely challenging circumstances, the EU economy achieved an anticipated soft landing, not least thanks to fiscal support measures at national and EU level. However, factors weighing on economic growth, estimated at 1.5 % in 2025, include tight financing conditions, low consumer confidence and the impact of uncertainty and high energy costs on business. Cumulative growth since the pre-pandemic period has varied widely across EU countries, with countries reliant on (financial) services leading, followed by the eastern European economies, whereas Germany, Finland, and Estonia have stagnated with no notable growth. The new fiscal rules are expected to trigger a shift in fiscal policy, with a decline in the EU’s aggregate deficit below 3 % of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2026. Nevertheless, fiscal tightening is projected to be pro-cyclical in a number of countries. With the EU’s employment rate at a record high (75.8 % of people aged 20 to 64), labour markets remain strong and the employment gender gap has narrowed. A gradual easing of monetary policy is anticipated. In their final 2 years, Next Generation EU (NGEU) and its Recovery and Resilience Facility are expected to mitigate the impact of fiscal consolidation, providing support for public investment, if their implementation is not delayed.

Read this infographic on ‘Economic Outlook Quarterly: A story of contrasts‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Pieter Baert.

Around 100 million people in the EU– or 1 in 4 adults – have some form of disability. Addressing both fiscal support and public service accessibility for people with disabilities is crucial for a more inclusive and equitable tax system across the EU. On 3 December 2024, the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Tax Matters (FISC) will host a public hearing on this topic as part of the European Parliament’s Disability Rights Week.

Examples of social benefits and tax programmes

Effective tax policies and tax collection are essential for supporting the financial wellbeing of people with disabilities. Robust tax revenue enables the funding of vital services, such as healthcare, accessibility infrastructure, and social benefits that foster inclusivity and financial security. In 2021, EU Member States allocated €300 billion in social benefits to people with disabilities. Figure 1 shows the amount of social benefits dedicated to disability support per inhabitant across various EU countries, measured in purchasing power standard (PPS).

Figure 1 – Social protection expenditure on disability by benefits, PPS per inhabitant, 2022

As people with disabilities can face (un)employment or poverty gaps (28 % are at risk of poverty or social exclusion), certain tax measures can help offset the additional costs associated with accessibility and healthcare needs, for instance. In terms of tax incentives, the EU VAT Directive allows Member States to apply VAT rates as low as 0 % to the supply of (medical and assistive) equipment for people with disabilities, as well as the adaptation, repair, rental and leasing of such goods. Domestic care services for people with disabilities, such as home help, can also benefit from reduced VAT rates as low as 5 %.

Nevertheless, taxation remains largely a Member State competence; tax programmes for people with disabilities, such as dedicated tax credits, exemptions or deductions, vary widely from one Member State to another, and can depend on the severity of the disability and the individual’s age, employment status or family situation, among other factors. As a result, comparing disability-related tax incentives across EU countries is complex, as each system is tailored both to the wider national tax (and benefits) system and to the disabled individuals’ specific conditions and needs.

When considering tax programmes for families taking care of a disabled child, approaches vary across the EU, dependent on national conditions. To name but a few examples: in Malta and Ireland, families receive a dedicated yearly tax credit (€500 and €245 respectively). Belgium increases the personal income tax exemption threshold to reduce the families’ taxable income. In Czechia, the regular family tax credit is doubled, while in Italy, it is increased by a fixed amount (€400). In France, depending on certain conditions, the family quotient system lowers the taxable income of families with a disabled child.

Access to disability benefits across borders

Because of differing criteria and assessor judgment, disability status assessments vary widely across the EU. This complicates the lives of people who move between Member States and rely on disability benefits or tax support. Several citizens have petitioned the European Parliament, expressing concern about the complex, non-transferable nature of the disability status and, by extension, access to (and the level of) disability benefits and/or tax treatment across borders. The European Disability Card, adopted by the co-legislators (the European Parliament and the Council) in October 2024, should promote mutual recognition of disability status across the EU. However, it applies only to those travelling between Member States for short periods (3 months) and excludes social benefits and other cash contributions explicitly from its scope (recital 38).

Another common issue is that many people with disabilities would like to join the labour market, but may feel discouraged or unsure if taking up employment could lead to steep benefit reductions. A 2020 study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) covering 11 EU Member States plus the United Kingdom shows how earnings are affected by a reduction in disability benefits and increased taxes on entering employment. Some countries (Czechia, Lithuania) tend to allow recipients to earn additional income without losing benefits, providing strong incentives to enter the labour force as full-time workers. Hungary and Sweden, by contrast, discontinue benefits on taking up employment (or at low levels of earnings or working hours). A third group of countries (Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, the Netherlands and Poland) occupy a middle ground, phasing out benefits more gradually as earnings rise, thus encouraging part-time work. Furthermore, social economy entities, such as organisations employing people with disabilities, may benefit from favourable tax treatment, as well.

Access to tax administrations

Ease of contact between people with disabilities and tax administrations is yet another perspective that warrants consideration. Tax compliance has shifted increasingly towards online processes, thereby reducing opportunities for in-person interactions that might otherwise accommodate specific accessibility needs. This transition places greater responsibility on tax administrations to ensure that digital compliance tools are fully accessible to all. Fulfilling tax obligations is a civic duty, and accessible services empower people with disabilities to participate fully in their communities and contribute actively to the economy. Moreover, as seen above, countries have specific tax programmes to support those with disabilities, and information on those incentives – for instance relating to entry requirements, and filing deadlines and required documentation – has to be communicated clearly and pro-actively to those who need it.

A 2022 OECD survey of tax authorities across 24 EU Member States found that there is room for progress in this respect: two thirds of tax authorities surveyed reported having online assistive tools designed for taxpayers with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive disabilities. Among these, only half evaluate users’ feedback in order to assess the quality of these tools. Such assistive tools can be text-to-speech and speech recognition software, alternative keyboards, and screen readers that convert text into braille.

Read this ‘at a glance’ note on ‘Taxation measures to support people with disabilities in the EU‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Marie Lecerf.

The EU and its Member States have signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and use its definition of disability as a common reference at EU level. There is no other harmonised definition of disability in the EU.

The recent introduction of the Global Activity Limitation Instrument indicator (GALI) in most of Eurostat’s social and economic surveys offers the opportunity to have a clearer assessment of disability in the EU than before. It confirms that in 2023 the prevalence of disability was higher among female, older and less educated respondents.

The EU combats all forms of discrimination alongside and in support of its Member States. To improve the situation of people with disabilities, it has introduced a series of initiatives, programmes and strategies over a number of decades. The European Parliament has been highly active in the bid to end all forms of discrimination against people with disabilities, since the early 1980s.

In 1997, Article 13 of the Treaty establishing the European Community on the human right not to suffer discrimination on grounds, in particular, of disability, paved the way for a genuine disability policy. The first step in this regard was the adoption of a 2001-2006 action programme to combat discrimination. Later, the 2010-2020 European disability strategy sought to enable people with disabilities to exercise their rights and participate fully in society and the economy.

The 2021-2030 strategy, incorporating lessons learned from its predecessor, seeks to ensure that all persons with disabilities in the EU, regardless of their sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, age or sexual orientation: enjoy their human rights; have equal access to participation in society and the economy; can decide where, how and with whom they live; can move freely in the EU regardless of their support needs; and no longer experience discrimination. This is an update of a briefing published in November 2023.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Understanding EU policies for people with disabilities‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Laurence Amand-Eeckhout.

World AIDS Day, proclaimed by the United Nations in 1988, takes place each year on 1 December. The aim is to raise awareness, fight prejudice, encourage progress in prevention, and improve treatment around the world. Although infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is preventable, significant HIV transmission remains a challenge to EU Member States’ health systems. This year’s theme ‘Take the rights path: My health, my right!’ underlines the need to ensure that everyone, everywhere, has the right to quality healthcare services in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

Background

Attacking the body’s immune system (the white blood cells or ‘CD4 cells’), HIV weakens its defence against other infections and diseases. The most advanced stage of HIV infection is AIDS (with a CD4 count below 200). Found in a variety of body fluids, such as blood, semen, vaginal secretions and breast milk, HIV can be transmitted through sex, blood transfusion, the sharing of contaminated needles, and between mother and child during pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding.

People who are at high risk of getting HIV can take pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medicine to reduce the risk of infection.

People diagnosed with HIV and treated early can now expect to live a normal lifespan. Infections can be treated to prevent progression to AIDS by decreasing viral load in an infected body (antiretroviral therapy, ‘ART’). However ART does not cure HIV infection, and there is no vaccine.

The United Nations (UN) Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) is leading the global effort to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN in 2015 (Goal 3.3). UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organisations, including the World Health Organization (WHO).

With World AIDS Day 2024’s theme ‘Take the rights path: My health, my right!’ the WHO is calling on global leaders and citizens to champion the right to health by addressing the inequalities that hinder progress in ending AIDS. In its report published on 26 November 2024, UNAIDS underlines the urgent need to remove laws, policies and practices which harm people’s rights by punishing, discriminating against or stigmatising people and obstructing access to HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care, as well as laws, policies and practices that hinder the work of people who are providing vital HIV services for affected communities or who are advocating for reforms.

Facts and figures

UNAIDS data show that, in 2023, 1.3 million people contracted HIV, 39 million people were living with HIV (38 million adults (15 years or older) and 1 million children (0–14 years) and 630 000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses. Stigma and discrimination hinder individuals from seeking and obtaining HIV-related care:  across countries with available data, people living with HIV who perceive high levels of stigma are 2.4 times more likely to delay care until they are very ill.

According to the 2024 report  on ‘HIV/AIDS surveillance in Europe’ (2023 data), published on 28 November 2024 jointly by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the WHO Regional Office for Europe, HIV affects over 2.6 million people in the WHO European region (made up of 53 countries covering a vast geographical region from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean), including over 650 000 people in the EU/European Economic Area (EEA).

In the EU/EEA specifically, 24 731 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in 2023 (22 995 in 2022).

In addition, more than 1 in 10 people living with HIV in the EU/EEA are still unaware of their status, which contributes to late diagnoses, worse outcomes and the continued spread of HIV.

EU action on HIV/AIDS

EU Member States are responsible for their own healthcare policies and systems. However, according to Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the EU complements national policies while also fostering cooperation between Member States.

In the EU, HIV/AIDS policy focuses on prevention and on supporting people living with the disease. The European Commission has mobilised measures and instruments across several policy areas in the fight against HIV/AIDS. This includes support for Member States to help them achieve the global target under Goal 3.3 of the UN SDGs, to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. In that context, the Commission facilitates the exchange of best practices through the Health Security Committee, as well as dedicated networks on the EU Health Policy Platform. EU4Health projects aim to provide support to vulnerable groups, including access to information, testing, and community-based services. The EU drugs strategy for 2021-2025, aims to ensure a high level of health promotion, including measures to reduce the prevalence and incidence of drug-related infectious diseases, such as viral hepatitis and HIV.

Since the early years of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, the EU has invested significantly in HIV/AIDS research. The Horizon Europe programme for research and innovation supports projects ranging from basic research to the development and testing of new treatments and vaccines.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) supports the global HIV response through scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines. The ECDC is a key partner of the Commission in relation to HIV/AIDS and provides guidance to Member States. Its 2023 progress report published in February 2024 summarises the progress towards UN SDG 3.3 to eliminate the AIDS epidemic in Europe by 2030. It provides an update on the progress in relation to HIV prevention, testing and treatment, AIDS-related deaths and HIV-related stigma and discrimination.

On the world stage, as underlined in its 2022 global health strategy, the EU supports the Global Fund against AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. In 2022, the EU pledged €715 million for the 2023-2025 period, a 30 % increase over its pledge of €550 million covering the 2020-2022 period. The UNAIDS 2021‑2026 global AIDS strategy highlights the need for a new approach that reduces the inequalities driving the AIDS epidemic and puts people at its centre, involving communities and prioritising human rights and dignity.

In its May 2021 resolution on accelerating progress and tackling inequalities towards ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, the European Parliament calls on the European Commission to address AIDS as a global public health crisis, to prioritise health as part of the EU-Africa strategy, to work with Member States and partners to invest in community engagement and community-led responses as key components in the fight against HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination.

In November 2022, at the request of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI), the Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies provided a study on ‘Health-related quality of life in people living with HIV’. The study suggests accelerated action in several areas to reduce the incidence of HIV and to improve quality of life for people living with HIV, notably: a combined approach to HIV prevention (including access to condoms, PrEP, and harm reduction services such as needle exchange and drug treatment); expanded accessibility to HIV testing and, for those who test positive, rapid linkage to care; development of integrated, patient-centred services; and monitoring and addressing HIV-related stigma, particularly in healthcare systems. This study was presented at the European Parliament’s Subcommittee meeting on Public Health (SANT) of 28 November 2023.

In its December 2023 resolution on non-communicable diseases, Parliament supports further research on the development of vaccines and innovative treatment options against HIV. It calls on the Member States to step up their support to ensure that all citizens, including vulnerable communities more at risk, can be tested, diagnosed and have rapid access to the best innovative care options. It encourages the Member States to invest in and support high-impact innovative combination prevention approaches.

This updates an ‘At a glance’ note from November 2023.

Read this ‘at a glance’ note on ‘World AIDS Day 2024: Still too many HIV infections‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Kjeld van Wieringen.

Europe is lagging behind the US and China in electric vehicle (EV) innovation and has become China’s largest EV export market. The double pressure of Western companies moving production facilities to China and Chinese companies that are looking to Europe to sell EVs risks disrupting the European automotive supply chain. As the automobile sector generates 7 % of the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP) and close to 14 million direct and indirect jobs, any threat against the sector should be taken seriously. This paper explores the future of European EVs and whether the EU car industry will manage to survive competition with China. 

China has become the world’s leading EV-producing country in recent years, making over half of the world’s electric vehicles. The European Commission has stressed that China’s rapidly rising exports of cheap EVs and growing overcapacity constitute a threat to Europe’s automotive industry. China achieved its leadership position through subsidies and various competitive advantages such as its access to natural resources, its large internal market, cheap labour and cheap technologies.

The European Commission announced the initiation of EU anti-subsidy investigations into Chinese electric vehicle supply chains on 4 October 2023. This anti-subsidy probe is the largest EU trade case against China in history. The Commission concluded in June 2024 that Chinese-made EVs have benefited from unfair subsidies and implemented various provisional tariffs in response, ranging from 17.4 % to 38.1 %. In October, the Commission received the necessary support from Member States to impose definitive duties on Chinese EVs.

Stakeholders and experts have warned that tariffs will not be enough to protect EU competitiveness in the EV industry, stressing the need for investment and other measures, and that the EU needs a stronger industrial policy to this end. However, they do suggest that tariffs will help EU producers buy time in their transition towards EV production, and that tariffs may also serve to attract Chinese EV investment into the EU.

Ten policy experts in the field were surveyed for the development of four scenarios for the European EV industry by 2030. These scenarios are the following:

• Cutting-edge Europe: The EU and its EV manufacturers develop cutting-edge technologies and take a leading role in the global EV market.
• Slow electrification: Chinese carmakers have captured large shares of the European EV market through exports and local production as Europe lags behind.
• Overdependence: Europe is reliant on Chinese technology as almost all domestic European EV industry and brands vanish.
• Sanctions spiral: Chinese counter-sanctions following aggression against Taiwan cause massive disruption to EV supply chains.

If Europe is to steer its future to a positive outcome, it will have to use its existing policy instruments and build new ones to promote and protect its EV industry and foster meaningful partnerships to that end. All of this could involve a new EU industrial plan designed to stimulate electric vehicle manufacturing in Europe.

Read the complete ‘in-depth analysis’ on ‘The future of European electric vehicles‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Chinese-made EV sales in Europe by producer (January 2021 – March 2022) European EV scenarios for 2030

Written by Clare Ferguson and Katarzyna Sochacka.

The highlight of the November III 2024 plenary session was the election of the European Commission, following the Commission President-elect’s presentation of the College of Commissioners and a debate in the chamber. Members held debates on Commission statements on the outcomes of the G20 Leaders’ Summit and the COP29 climate change conference. Members also debated Commission and Council statements on reinforcing the EU’s unwavering support for Ukraine; continued escalation in the Middle East; and the political and humanitarian situation in Mozambique.

Other debates on Commission statements addressed, inter alia, Bulgaria and Romania’s full accession to the Schengen Area; prevention of the recruitment of minors for criminal acts; the need to adopt an ambitious international legally binding agreement on plastic pollution; the Commission’s Autumn 2024 economic forecast; venture capital financing and safe foreign direct investments in the EU; energy prices and fighting energy poverty; the gender pay gap; critical infrastructure vulnerabilities and hybrid threats in the Baltic Sea; foreign interference and espionage by third-country actors in European universities; condemning the unilateral declaration of independence of the secessionist entity in Cyprus and efforts to legitimise it, 41 years on; and the repression of freedom of speech in Algeria.

Members also posed questions to Commissioner Elisa Ferreira on challenges in the implementation of the 2021-2027 cohesion policy.

Vote of investiture of the European Commission  

Following the confirmation hearings of Commissioners-designate earlier in November, and the decisions by committee coordinators in all cases of the suitability of the candidates for their proposed roles, the Conference of Presidents agreed to close the process and to hold the vote in plenary on the proposed College of Commissioners. Members therefore took the penultimate step in the investiture process for the second von der Leyen Commission on Wednesday, giving their consent to the appointment by 370 votes for, 282 against, and 36 abstentions. This allowed the European Council to formally appoint the new Commission the following day. The new Commission will therefore assume office on 1 December 2024, and serve until 31 October 2029.

Adoption of the European Union’s 2025 budget

Insisting on a people-centred approach to the 2025 budget, Parliament secured an additional €230 million in funding for key areas aimed at improving people’s lives during negotiations between the co-legislators. The Conciliation Committee reached a provisional agreement on 16 November 2024. Following the Council’s adoption of the agreed text, Parliament then adopted it during the plenary session, after which President Roberta Metsola signed the budget into law, with the 2025 EU budget to enter into force on 1 January 2025.

Outcome of the COP16 biodiversity conference

Members heard a Commission statement on the outcome the 16th Conference of parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16), held in Cali, Colombia. Parliament has previously called for an ambitious global biodiversity framework, and the EU played a significant role at COP16, highlighting its biodiversity strategy for 2030, committing €7 billion in external biodiversity funding, and launching €160 million in new initiatives to support global biodiversity efforts.

Smoke- and aerosol-free environments

Aiming to better protect young people in particular against second-hand smoke and aerosols from new products such as heated tobacco and e-cigarettes, Members held a debate on a proposed Council recommendation on the matter. The non-binding text would aim to create a Tobacco-Free Generation by 2040, where less than 5 % of the population uses tobacco. It recommends expanding smoke-free policies to outside areas in playgrounds, schools, hospitals, and public transport stops.

Elimination of violence against women

The first day of the plenary week coincided with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and Parliament opened the session with a statement on the issue. Violence against women remains widespread, with one in three women worldwide experiencing physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. Parliament has called repeatedly for the EU to combat violence against women.

Recent legislation targeting LGBTI persons

Members debated the rising trend of anti-LGBTI propaganda laws following a Commission statement. The discussion follows Bulgaria’s controversial August 2024 amendments to its education law, prohibiting the promotion of ‘non-traditional sexual orientation’ in schools. Earlier anti-LGBTI laws in Hungary are now under review by the EU Court of Justice in a landmark case. Parliament has long opposed such measures, declaring the EU an LGBTIQ Freedom Zone in 2021. This debate underscores Parliament’s unwavering commitment to equality, tolerance, and a discrimination-free EU.

Convention on the Rights of the Child: 35th anniversary

Members heard and debated a Commission statement on strengthening children’s rights, marking 35 years of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Recent EU achievements on children’s rights include the Temporary Protection Directive; aiding Ukrainian children; enhanced measures against child sexual abuse and online risks; and the European Child Guarantee to combat child poverty.

Corrigenda

Following committee approval of corrigenda on six more legislative files voted in plenary before the end of last term, these were deemed approved after announcement in plenary, under Rule 251 of the Rules of Procedure.

Read this ‘at a glance’ note on ‘Plenary round-up – November III 2024‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

Written by Silvia Kotanidis.

Involving young people could be considered an ethical requirement in any inclusive approach to the policy-making process. However, while young people are often the direct addressees of specific policy initiatives, their voices are little heard – whether at Member State or EU level.

Over the past 5 to 6 years, the younger generations have been able to claim more attention from politicians, and from society at large, on matters they close to their hearts. A case in point was the school climate strikes movement in 2018 and 2019. However, the impact of policies on younger generations cannot be perceived through the lens of adults alone. It is widely acknowledged that more attention needs to be given to the voices of young people themselves.

For this reason, Ursula von der Leyen has pledged to listen to young people’s voices in a structured way during her second term as European Commission President. One of the tools she intends to deploy are youth policy dialogues, to be organised on an annual basis. In addition, a ‘youth check’ is expected to be implemented from 2025. While more details of both initiatives will emerge as the new Commission starts work, the new Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef, sketched an outline of the plan during his confirmation hearing in the European Parliament.

Currently, an overview of existing tools through which EU institutions can interact with young people shows that young people’s participation is receiving attention, albeit in an unsystematic way. The new Commission has pledged to enrich these tools in order to give an innovative boost to young people’s participation in EU policy-making, and to focus EU decision-makers’ attention more sharply on intergenerational fairness and young people’s needs.

Read the complete briefing on ‘Youth policy dialogues: Young people’s participation in EU policy-making‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.