European Union

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.

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G20 leaders meet in Hangzhou, China, on 4-5 September 2016. Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and Jean Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, represent the EU at the summit.

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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

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Donald TUSK, President of the European Council, meets EU Leaders.

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Parliament will evaluate Commissioner-designate Sir Julian King for the portfolio of the Security Union during its plenary session in Strasbourg. The Civil Liberties Committee will first hold a public hearing with the candidate on Monday 12 September in the evening. The full House will take a vote on Thursday.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Parliament will evaluate Commissioner-designate Sir Julian King for the portfolio of the Security Union during its plenary session in Strasbourg. The Civil Liberties Committee will first hold a public hearing with the candidate on Monday 12 September in the evening. The full House will take a vote on Thursday.
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

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EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs meet on 2 and 3 September 2016 in Bratislava for their customary informal Gymnich meeting.

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EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs meet on 2 and 3 September 2016 in Bratislava for their customary informal Gymnich meeting.

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General : A coup attempt, terrorist attacks, a war at the border and three million refugees... Turkey faces difficult times as do its relations with the EU. Ankara has accused the EU of not condemning the coup attempt enough and demanded that the EU lifts visa restrictions or otherwise it could put an end to the refugee deal concluded earlier this year. Meanwhile the EU wants visa conditions to be fully met and is concerned about the rule of law and the country´s desire to reintroduce the death penalty.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

General : A coup attempt, terrorist attacks, a war at the border and three million refugees... Turkey faces difficult times as do its relations with the EU. Ankara has accused the EU of not condemning the coup attempt enough and demanded that the EU lifts visa restrictions or otherwise it could put an end to the refugee deal concluded earlier this year. Meanwhile the EU wants visa conditions to be fully met and is concerned about the rule of law and the country´s desire to reintroduce the death penalty.

Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

Exactly one year ago German Chancellor Angela Merkel made the decision to allow the refugees stuck at Budapest's Keleti train station to travel on to Germany. Following this move, refugee numbers rose substantially. Merkel underpinned her policy with the phrase "We can do it". Europe's press is still deeply divided about the repercussions.

At almost 24 percent Greece's unemployment rate remains the highest in the EU, the European statistics agency Eurostat reported on Thursday. According to a new IMF study there is little hope of these figures improving substantially in the decades to come. While some Greek commentators see the situation as hopeless others call on those seeking jobs to adjust to market requirements.

Rome's mayor Virginia Raggi is facing a crisis of government: close confidants in the city council as well as the managers of the rapid transit and waste disposal systems resigned on Thursday. The new mayor, who was swept into office last June with the electoral breakthrough of the Movimento Cinque Stelle, has been overwhelmed by the demands put on her by the former protest movement, commentators believe, noting that the party has now lost its allure.