Main news from Brussels this week
date: 24/01/2020
President von der Leyen in Davos
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, delivered an opening speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on 20 January as well as the keynote speech on 22 January, emphasising that an inclusive approach is needed to address the pressing challenges to our daily lives and global order. She met with several world leaders, including US President Donald Trump. This friendly exchange of views was a first opportunity to meet in person and to compare notes and positions on a number of topical issues, notably trade, technology and energy. Both sides agreed to meet soon in Washington to move the common transatlantic agenda forward.
Shaping the future of Europe
On 22 January, the Commission set out its ideas for shaping the Conference on the Future of Europe, to be launched on Europe Day, 9 May 2020 and run for two years. As a major pan-European democratic exercise, the conference will be a new public forum for an open, inclusive, transparent and structured debate with citizens around a number of key priorities. It is part of President von der Leyen’s pledge to give Europeans a greater say on what the EU does and how it works for them. It aims to reach out beyond the EU’s capitals, reaching every corner of the EU, strengthening the link between Europeans and the institutions that serve them.
75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz
On 23 January, President Ursula von der Leyen and the Presidents of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, and of the European Council, Charles Michel, attended the "2020 Global Forum on the Holocaust: Remembering the Holocaust, fight anti-Semitism" in Jerusalem. President von der Leyen said: "The Holocaust was a European tragedy, it marked a turning point in our history and it has left its mark on the DNA of the European Union."
Statement of the three presidents
12 countries and the UN, EU, African Union and Arab League agreed on a starting point for further UN-led negotiations in Libya
On 19 January aconference on Libya brought together the most influential regional and international partners in Berlin. They agreed 55 points and committed they will refrain from any actions that could endanger the truce, including any further military support for the parties in the conflict. The EU reaffirmed that the only sustainable solution to the crisis in Libya is through UN-led mediation efforts that put the needs of all Libyan people at the forefront. The EU reiterated its position that only a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political process can end the conflict and bring lasting peace.
The Commission encourages member states to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work
On 22 January, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Council Decision allowing member states to take forward the process of ratifying at national level the Convention on the Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the World of Work. The Convention, adopted during the International Labour Organization Centenary in June 2019, is the first international instrument setting out global standards on work-related harassment and violence.
EU humanitarian budget for 2020 to help people in over 80 countries
The EU is the leading global humanitarian aid donor and helps people in over 80 countries. This week, the Commission adopted its initial annual humanitarian budget for 2020 worth €900 million. €400 million will go for programmes in Africa, where EU aid will support people affected by long-term conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, those suffering food and nutrition crisis in Sahel, and those displaced by violence in South Sudan, Central African Republic, and Lake Chad basin. In the Middle East, €345 million of EU funding will address the crisis in Syria and its refugees in neighbouring countries, as well as the extremely critical situation in Yemen. In Asia and Latin America, EU aid will continue to assist the most vulnerable populations affected by the crisis in Venezuela and refugees in neighbouring countries.
Africa-Europe Alliance: four new financial guarantees worth €216 million signed under the EU External Investment Plan
On 22 January, the Commission signed four guarantee agreements worth €216 million that will help unlock €2 billion to invest in renewables, urban infrastructure and start-ups in Africa and the neighbourhood. These guarantees will significantly boost investment in renewable energy and increase access to finance for small businesses, while also improving investment in urban infrastructure and services in sub-Saharan Africa and in the EU neighbourhood. The guarantees are part of the External Investment Plan, which aims to mobilize more than €47 billion by 2020 in public and private investment for development in countries neighbouring the EU and in Africa using €4.6 billion in EU funds.
All this week's key European Commission announcements can be found here