Did you know...? : facts and figures about the European Union and the G20 : Hangzhou, 4>5 September 2016.
Date: 2016-01-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communication
Subjects: China, EU banking union, European Union, G20, aid to refugees, climate change policy, demography, economic growth, economic policy, euro, investment policy, promotion of the European idea, social policy, summit meeting, sustainable development, tax avoidance, terrorism financing, trade policy

Did you know…?

Facts and figures 
about the European Union and the G20

Hangzhou, 4>5 September 2016 

DG Communication – Spokesperson’s Service

G 20

EU PARTICIPATION IN THE G20

Did you know that… 

…  the  European  Union  is  represented  at  leaders’  level  by  the  President  of  the 
European  Commission,  Jean-Claude  Juncker,  and  the  President  of  the  European 
Council, Donald Tusk. 

... the European Union set out its views on what this G20 should deliver in a joint 
letter of the Presidents of the European Commission and the European Council, sent 
to the EU Heads of State or Government on 29 August.

…  moreover,  on  Wednesday  14  September  2016,  Commission  President  Juncker 
will deliver his State of the Union address at the European Parliament, taking stock 
of achievements of the past year and presenting the priorities for the year ahead. 
The President will also set out how the Commission will address the most pressing 
challenges the European Union is facing (for more info: ec.europa.eu/soteu).

… the G20 leaders’ process was born after a joint EU-US initiative back in 2008 to 
tackle the global financial crisis. 

… the European Union is a full member of the G20 alongside four of its Member 
States:  France,  Germany,  Italy  and  the  United  Kingdom.  In  addition,  Spain  is  a 
permanent invitee of the G20. 

… the EU has its own seat at the G20 table because it is one of the largest global 
economic areas with specific competences in trade matters, economic policy and 
financial regulation, development, energy and climate change. 

… China is the current holder of the G20 presidency. The eleventh edition of the G20 
leaders’ summit takes place in Hangzhou, on 4 and 5 September 2016.

… Germany will hold the G20 presidency in 2017 and will host the 12th edition of 
the G20 leaders’ summit. In 2018, Argentina will be holding the G20 presidency. 
Previous summits were hosted by the United States (2008 and 2009), the United 
Kingdom  (2009),  Canada  (2010),  the  Republic  of  Korea  (2010),  France  (2011), 
Mexico (2012), Russia (2013), Australia (2014) and Turkey (2015). 

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EU-CHINA RELATIONS

Did you know that…

… the EU and China build on a broad-based framework of bilateral relations. They 
established official diplomatic ties in 1975. Under the umbrella of the annual EU-
China  Summit,  EU-China  relations  today  encompass  over  sixty  substantive  and 
sectorial dialogues.

… the EU-China 2020 Agenda for Cooperation, adopted in 2013, is the highest-level 
joint document in EU-China relations, setting out cooperation in the areas of peace, 
prosperity, sustainable development and people-to-people exchanges.

…  on  22  June  2016  the  High  Representative/Commission  Vice-President  and  the 
European Commission adopted a Joint Communication on elements for a new EU 
strategy on China, setting out additional building blocks for EU-China cooperation, 
providing  opportunities  for  creating  jobs  and  growth  in  the  EU,  and  supporting 
China’s own economic reform programme.

...  discussions  are  ongoing  between  the  EU  and  China  related  to  the  Chinese 
overproduction of steel, including the establishment of verification and monitoring 
mechanisms.

… China is a top EU partner for imports in 2015, accounting for a fifth (20.3%) of 
all EU imports. It is the second largest EU partner for exports in 2015 (9.5% of all 
exports), after the United States.

On the occasion of the last EU-China summit, which took place in Beijing in July 
2016, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, issued some data on 
economic relations between China and the EU.

More on EU-China relations on the website of the European Union External Action 
Service: http://eeas.europa.eu/factsheets/news/eu-china_factsheet_en.htm

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DEMOGRAPHY

With 509 million inhabitants in 2015, the EU accounted for just below 7% of the 
world population (7.3 billion inhabitants). China (1 376 million inhabitants or 18.7% 
of the world population) and India (1 311 mn or 17.8%) were more populous, while 
the United States (322 mn or 4.4%), Indonesia (258 mn or 3.5%) and Brazil (208 
mn or 2.8%) accounted for a lower share of the world population than the EU.

1960

EU-28
13.4 %

2015

EU-28
6.9 %

Rest of
the world
36.1 %

China
22.0 %

24%

Rest of
the world
26.2 %

Other G20 
countries
10.6 %

Japan
3.0 %

Russia
3.9 %

United 
States
6.0 %

India
14.8 %

Source: Eurostat

Other G20 
countries
9.8 %

Brazil
2.8 %

United 
States
4.4 %

Indonesia
3.5 %

China
18.7 %

India
17.8 %

More interesting statistical material on the EU and the G20 can be found in Eurostat’s 
recent publication ‘The EU in the world: A statistical portrait of the European Union 
compared  with  the  15  non-EU  G-20  countries’  (PDF  version:  http://ec.europa.eu/
eurostat/en/web/products-statistical-books/-/KS-EX-16-001)

ECONOMY

Did you know that…

… the EU accounted for a 22.2% share of the world’s GDP in 2015 (in value terms, 
see table 3).

Rest of 
the world 
GDP

EU GDP

3

 
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… GDP per capita (in €) in the EU with its 28 Member States is 28,700 euro and in 
the euro area 30.700 euro, which places Europe among the five most performing 
economies (2015, see table 1).

Table 1: GDP per capita

GDP PER CAPITA

2015 DOLLARS

EXCHANGE RATE

2015 EURO

EU-28

EURO AREA (19 
COUNTRIES)

GERMANY

FRANCE

ITALY

UNITED KINGDOM

ARGENTINA

AUSTRALIA

BRAZIL

CANADA

CHINA

INDIA

INDONESIA

JAPAN

KOREA, REP.

MEXICO

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

SAUDI ARABIA

SOUTH AFRICA

TURKEY

UNITED STATES

13,589

50,962

8,670

43,332

7,990

1,617

3,362

32,486

27,195

9,009

9,055

20,813

5,695

9,437

55,805

1.1095

28,700

30,700

37,000

32,800

26,900

39,600

12,248

45,932

7,814

39,055

7,201

1,458

3,031

29,279

24,511

8,120

8,161

18,759

5,133

8,506

50,298

Source: Eurostat, International Monetary Fund (World Economic Outlook database)

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… in 2015 the EU had a lower government deficit (-2.4% of GDP) than, amongst 
others, Japan (-5.2% of GDP) and the United States (-3.7% of GDP, see table 2).

… in 2015, with 85.2% of GDP, the EU had a lower government debt than the United 
States (105.8% of GDP) and Japan (248.1 % of GDP, see table 2).

… in 2016, as economic recovery continues, growth in the EU is forecast to be 1.8%

Table 2: Inflation rate, Government deficit and debt

INFLATION (% CHANGE ON 
PREVIOUS YEAR)

GOVERNMENT SURPLUS/
DEFICIT, % OF GDP

GOVERNMENT DEBT, % OF 
GDP

2014

2015

EU-28

EURO AREA (19 
COUNTRIES)

GERMANY

FRANCE

ITALY

UNITED KINGDOM

ARGENTINA

AUSTRALIA

BRAZIL

CANADA

CHINA

INDIA

INDONESIA

JAPAN

SOUTH-KOREA

MEXICO

RUSSIA

SAUDI ARABIA

SOUTH AFRICA

TURKEY

UNITED STATES

0.5

0.4

0,8

0,6

0,2

1,5

N/A

2.5

6.3

1.9

2.0

5.9

6.4

2.7

1.3

4.0

7.8

2.7

6.1

8.9

1.6

0.0

0.0

0.1

0.1

0.1

0.0

N/A

1.5

9.0

1.1

1.4

4.9

6.4

0.8

0.7

2.7

15.5

2.2

4.6

7.7

0.1

2014

-3.0

-2.6

0.3

-4.0

-3.0

-5.6

-4.1

-2.9

-6.0

-0.5

-0.9

-7.0

-2.1

-6.2

0.4

-4.6

-1.1

-3.4

-3.8

-1.2

-4.1

2015

-2.4

-2.1

0.7

-3.5

-2.6

-4.4

-7.4

-2.8

-10.3

-1.7

-2.7

-7.2

-2.5

-5.2

-0.2

-4.1

-3.5

-16.3

-4.0

-1.0

-3.7

2014

86.8

92.0

74.7

95.4

2015

85.2

90.7

71.2

95.8

132.5

132.7

88.2

45.1

34.1

63.3

86.2

41.1

66.4

24.7

89.2

56.5

36.8

73.7

91.5

43.9

67.2

27.3

249.1

248.1

35.1

49.5

16.3

1.6

47.1

33.5

35.9

54.0

17.7

5.8

50.1

32.6

105.0

105.8

Source: Eurostat, International Monetary Fund (World Economic Outlook database)

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Table 3: Share of world GDP, in value terms

GDP IN BILLION 
EURO

EU-28

EURO AREA 
(19 COUNTRIES)

GERMANY

FRANCE

ITALY

UK

ARGENTINA

AUSTRALIA

BRAZIL

CANADA

CHINA

INDIA

INDONESIA

JAPAN

SOUTH-KOREA

MEXICO

RUSSIA

SAUDI ARABIA

SOUTH AFRICA

TURKEY

UNITED STATES

WORLD

2015 DOLLARS (BN)

EXCHANGE RATE

2015 EURO (BN)

SHARE OF WORLD 
GDP

14,635,153.9

10,406,506.2

3,025.90

2,181.06

1,636.37

2,575.71

 527.83 

 1,103.10 

 1,597.65 

 1,399.18 

 9,898.90 

 1,884.37 

 774.18 

 3,716.32 

 1,240.98 

 1,031.40 

 1,193.99 

 588.75 

 282.07 

 661.24 

 16,175.75 

65,949.51

22.2%

15.8%

4.6%

3,3%

2,5%

3,9%

0.8%

1.7%

2.4%

2.1%

15.0%

2.9%

1.2%

5.6%

1.9%

1.6%

1.8%

0.9%

0.4%

1.0%

24.5%

100%

1.1095

585.62

1,223.89

1,772.59

1,552.39

10,982.83

2,090.71

858.95

4,123.26

1,376.87

1,144.33

1,324.73

653.22

312.96

733.64

17,947.00

73,170.99

Source: Eurostat, International Monetary Fund (World Economic Outlook database)

6

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EU G20 PRIORITIES

SUPPORTING A COLLECTIVE RESPONSE TO THE REFUGEE CRISIS

In  their  joint  letter  to  EU  Heads  of  State  or  Government,  European  Commission 
President Juncker and European Council President Tusk remind that “a comprehensive 
global response to share the responsibility in addressing the unprecedented refugee 
and migration crisis and its root causes remains a priority”. The G20 should continue 
to support international efforts, and contribute to achieving successful outcomes at 
the forthcoming UN summit on refugees and migrants, and the summit on refugees 
to  be  hosted  by  President  Obama.  The  G20  has  the  expertise  to  make  practical 
contributions  through  trade,  development  cooperation  and  refugees’  access  to 
education and job opportunities.

Did you know that…

…  worldwide  displacement  is  at  the  highest  level  ever  recorded.  The  number  of 
people forced to flee their homes has risen to 65.3 million compared to 37.5 million 
a decade ago.

… since early 2011, the main cause for this increase has been the war in Syria, now 
the world’s single-largest driver of displacement.

…  the  European  Commission  allocated  more  than  €10  billion  from  its  budget  in 
2015-16 to address both the immediate and the long-term challenges of managing 
migration flows. 

EU BUDGET RESPONSE TO THE REFUGEE CRISIS

Increase to react  
to bigger needs  

Initial  
allocations 

€ 4.6 bn

€ 2.2 bn

€ 500 m

Trust Fund for Syria

EU Emergency Trust 
Fund for Africa

€ 1.8 bn

€ 1 bn

Facility for Refugees in Turkey 

TOTAL
€ 10.1 bn

7

G 20

…  EU  joint  operations  (Frontex;  operation  Sophia)  have  together  rescued  over 
240,000 people in the Mediterranean in 2015-16.

… the EU is helping Syrian people within Syria as well as refugees and their host 
communities in Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt. At the London ‘Supporting 
Syria’ conference, the EU and its Member States pledged more than €3 billion for 
2016, on top of the €6.4 billion mobilised for the Syrian crisis since 2011.

… the EU is also helping displaced people in Turkey through its Facility for Refugees 
in Turkey: €3 billion has been mobilised for 2016-2017 from the EU budget and 
Member States.

... in July, the Commission adopted a Special Measure of € 1.4 bn to help refugees 
and host communities in Turkey. This brings the total allocated to € 2.1 bn.

… the EU is working closely with Turkey to replace dangerous journeys across the 
Aegean  with  safe  and  legal  paths  to  the  EU  for  Syrian  refugees.  The  EU-Turkey 
Statement of 18 March 2016 is delivering results. By August 1,061 Syrian refugees 
in Turkey had been resettled in Europe, while 1,566 irregular migrants to the EU had 
been returned to Turkey. 

… the EU is addressing the root causes of migration by working with its regional 
partners,  by,  for  example,  setting  up  an  Emergency  Trust  Fund  for  Africa,  using 
€1.8 billion from the EU budget and the European Development Fund to promote 
development and security in strategic regions.

…  that  new  migration  partnerships  with  key  countries,  starting  with  Mali,  Niger, 
Nigeria, Senegal and Ethiopia, have been proposed.

More  information  on  EU  migration  policy  on  the  European  Commission’s  priority 
pages: http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/migration/index_en.htm

MAINTAINING JOBS, GROWTH AND INVESTMENT AT THE TOP OF 
THE G20 AGENDA

In their joint letter to EU Heads of State or Government on the EU’s key issues for the 
G20 summit, Presidents Juncker and Tusk underline the importance of “a credible 
narrative for sustainable and inclusive growth, which puts to work all available policy 

8

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tools  –  monetary,  fiscal  and  structural”.  Although  our  economies  have  recovered 
from the crisis, the global outlook remains uncertain and many citizens still do not 
feel the benefits of growth. A key deliverable will be the G20 Hangzhou Action Plan 
and the updated Growth Strategies, both Presidents write. They announce that they 
“will call for accelerating the implementation of these strategies, keeping in mind 
the objective the G20 set in Brisbane to lift global growth by 2% by 2018”; They 
equally welcome the G20’s “Enhanced Structural Reform Agenda”, with principles 
and indicators to measure progress on structural reforms.

Did you know that…

… investment remains a top priority for the EU, and we welcome the good progress 
the  G20  has  made  to  promote  investment,  which  will  support  our  investment 
priorities at home.

… the EU has been pursuing a clear strategy: to build a ‘virtuous triangle’ of responsible 
public  finances,  structural  reforms  and  investment,  that  aims  to  mobilise  private 
investment and get Europe growing again.

THE ECONOMY: A VIRTUOUS TRIANGLE

INVESTMENT

€315 billion European Fund 
for Strategic Investments created 
in record time

InvestEU on track for delivery 
and already investing in real economy

Focus areas include:
(cid:127) Broadband, energy and transport networks
(cid:127) Education, research and innovation
(cid:127) Renewable energy and energy eﬃciency
(cid:127) Youth employment support project
(cid:127) SMEs and mid cap-ﬁrms

JOBS

Public money as a catalyst
for private investment

MAKING THE MOST OF FLEXIBILITY 
IN THE STABILITY AND GROWTH PACT

FISCAL 
RESPONSIBILITY 

STRUCTURAL 
REFORMS 

COMPLETING THE ECONOMIC 
AND MONETARY UNION
THE FIVE PRESIDENTS’ REPORT

… after a take-off in record time, the Investment Plan for Europe “InvestEU” is firmly 
on track, having triggered €116 billion into in new investment across 26 Member 
States in its first year, created more than 100,000 new jobs already and supported 
more than 200,000 small and medium-sized enterprises. 

9

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… thanks to the early success of the plan, the Commission will propose to extend its 
operation beyond 2018.

… the In vestment Plan for Europe has three main features:

•   the  new  European  Fund  for  Strategic  Investments  (EFSI)  backed  by  an  EU 
guarantee, to mobilise at least €315 billion of additional private and public 
investment until 2018, without creating new public debt;

•   the  European  Investment  Project  Portal  (EIPP),  an  online  platform  bringing 
together European project promoters and investors from the EU and beyond 
(http://ec.europa.eu/eipp) and the European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH), a 
single access point to a wide range of advisory services in support of project 
identification, development and implementation, access to finance, the use of 
financial instruments, and capacity building (http://www.eib.org/eiah).

10

G 20

•   an ambitious roadmap to make Europe more attractive for investment, remove 
regulatory bottlenecks and improve financing conditions. InvestEU goes hand 
in hand with other flagship Commission projects such as the Digital Single 
Market,  Energy  Union,  Capital  Markets  Union  and  a  fully  integrated  Single 
Market for goods and services.

FROM INVESTMENT TO JOB CREATION

InvestEU: FROM INVESTMENT TO JOB CREATION

€

€21 bn

€

x15

€315 bn

€410 bn
GDP

+ 2.1 million

Initial funding

Generated fund 
for investment
European Fund 
for Strategic 
Investments

Additional
economic
growth

New jobs

The  money  for  InvestEU  does  not  solely  come  from  reallocations  from  the  EU 
budget. EU Member States – as well as non-EU countries – can contribute either at 
the level of the risk-bearing capacity, through an investment platform, or by directly 
co-financing certain projects and activities.

http://ec.europa.eu/invest-eu

DRIVING SOCIAL FAIRNESS AND INCLUSION

Did you know that…

… in March 2016 the European Commission presented a first outline of a European 
Pillar of Social Rights and launched a broad public consultation. The Pillar sets out a 
number of essential principles to support well-functioning and fair labour markets 
and welfare systems within the euro area.

… fair labour markets also need fair rules. That is why the Commission proposed 
in March 2016 a targeted reform of the Posting of Workers Directive, to promote 
cross-border service provision, while ensuring fair competition between companies.

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G 20

… employment and social inclusion remain at the centre of the European Semester 
and the EU’s Europe 2020 targets, a set of ambitious goals on strategic key-issues 
aiming,  amongst  others,  at  an  employment  rate  of  75%  of  the  20-64  year-olds 
by 2020 and at least 20 million fewer people  in  or at  risk  of  poverty and  social 
exclusion.

… unemployment in the EU has fallen to its lowest level in seven years, and there 
are 7 million more jobs than in 2013.

… youth employment remains a top priority for the EU. It continues to roll out the 
Youth Guarantee, aiming to ensure that all young people receive an offer of work, 
training or education within four months of leaving school or becoming unemployed. 
The Youth Employment Initiative helps to implement the Youth Guarantee. So far, 
more than 1.4 million young people have been helped by this initiative.

MOVING  FORWARD  THE  G20  WORK  ON  TAX  TRANSPARENCY  AND 
COMBATTING THE FINANCING OF TERRORISM

In  their  joint  letter  to  the  EU  Heads  of  State  or  Government,  Presidents  Juncker 
and Tusk reiterate their firm stance on fighting tax avoidance and aggressive tax 
planning, urging the G20 to effectively implement agreed standards on exchange 
of  financial  information  and  on  Base  Erosion  and  Profit  Shifting  (BEPS).  The  list 
of non-cooperative jurisdictions should be based on strong, objective international 
criteria, and additional steps should be taken to improve exchange of information 
on beneficial ownership.

Did you know that…

… for more than 10 years, the European Union has stressed that automatic exchange 
of information for tax purposes should  be made  a  global  standard  and  that  this 
solution is now also recognised by the G20.

…the European Union remains at the forefront of the agenda on automatic exchange 
of information for tax purposes: in June, the EU’s Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive was 
finalised,  and  in  July  the  next  steps  to  increase  tax  transparency  and  tackle  tax 
abuse  were  set  out.  These  measures  will  have  a  direct  impact  on  the  problems 
highlighted in the so-called ‘Panama Papers’.

12

G 20

EU ACTION ON TAX TRANSPARENCY AND AGAINST TAX AVOIDANCE

Agreement on automatic exchange of information on tax rulings between Member States

DEAL – October 2015

Agreement on automatic exchange of tax information of multinational companies 
between EU Member States

DEAL – March 2016

New rules to tackle the most common methods of tax avoidance by large companies

DEAL – June 2016

Agreements with third-countries (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Andorra, Monaco) 
to exchange information on the ﬁnancial accounts of EU and third-country citizens

DEALS

State aid investigations to uncover tax avoidance schemes

Process towards establishing a common EU list of tax jurisdictions which don't respect 
international tax good governance standards

Mandatory public country-by-country reporting of taxation information by multinational 
companies

ONGOING

ONGOING

PROPOSED

… these EU measures target the main forms of tax avoidance practiced by large 
multinationals and build on global standards developed by the OECD on Base Erosion 
and Profit Shifting (BEPS).

… this legislation will put an end to the most common loopholes and aggressive tax 
planning schemes currently used by some large companies to avoid paying their 
fair share of tax. Moreover, the European Commission is continuing its campaign 
for corporate tax reform throughout 2016, with important proposals such as the 
re-launch of the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) still to come.

… an Action Plan for strengthening the fight against terrorist financing, was adopted 
by  the  Commission  in  February  2016,  as  part  of  its  broader  fight  against  tax 
avoidance, followed by a first series of implementation proposals in July.

... key actions adopted in July include the closing of loopholes that still allow tax 
evaders to hide funds offshore, and significantly increasing cross-border transparency 
on tax information on beneficial owners of companies and trusts.

13

G 20

DELIVERING A RESILIENT INTERNATIONAL MONETARY AND 
FINANCIAL SYSTEM

Did you know that…

…the European Union aims to keep financial regulation high on the G20 agenda. 
In their letter to the EU Member States, Presidents Juncker and Tusk call upon the 
G20 to subject the intended refinements of the Basel III framework to a thorough 
impact analysis. Capital requirements should not significantly increase in any of the 
major regions of the world. 

… the Banking Union is a key element of our Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). 
It was conceived to ensure that banks are more resilient to shocks, that they are 
better supervised, that savers’ deposits are guaranteed and, should problems arise 
in the financial sector, they can be resolved more easily without using taxpayers’ 
money. 

THREE PILLARS OF BANKING UNION

BANKING UNION 

SINGLE SUPERVISORY
MECHANISM 

SINGLE RESOLUTION
MECHANISM 

EUROPEAN DEPOSIT
INSURANCE
SCHEME

… the Banking Union  consists of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and the 
Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM), both of which are mandatory for all euro area 
Member States and open to all other countries in the EU.

… the European Commission proposed the European Deposit Insurance Scheme as 
an additional safety net for savers across Europe.

… the euro is the second most important currency in the world, with a share of a fifth 
of global foreign exchange reserves and with almost sixty countries and territories 
around the world either directly or indirectly pegging their currency to it. 

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G 20

EURO AS GLOBAL CURRENCY

The euro is the 2nd most 
important currency in the 
world

United States shares in 
IMF: 17.5%

EU and Member States 
share in IMF: 22.2%

A share of 19.9% of 
global foreign exchange 
reserves

Almost 60 countries and 
territories pegging their 
currency to it

…  the  completion  of  Economic  and  Monetary  Union  (EMU)  remains  high  on  the 
Agenda  of  the  European  Commission,  because  it  will  enable  the  euro  to  achieve 
its full potential to deliver jobs, growth, social fairness and financial stability and 
enhance the convergence of economic, fiscal and labour market policies between 
euro are countries. 

…  in  June  2015,  President  Jean-Claude  Juncker,  in  close  cooperation  with  the 
President of the Euro Summit, Donald Tusk, the President of the Eurogroup, Jeroen 
Dijsselbloem,  the  President  of  the  European  Central  Bank,  Mario  Draghi  and  the 
President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, presented an ambitious and 
yet pragmatic roadmap for completing Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union. This 
“Five Presidents’ Report” proposes concrete steps for turning the vision for a deeper 
and fairer economic, financial, fiscal and political union into a reality.

SHARING THE BENEFITS OF OPEN TRADE

Did you know that…

… trade remains a key component of the Commission’s strategy for jobs, growth 
and  investment.  The  EU  is  one  of  the  world’s  most  open  economies.  Open  trade 
strengthens  its  economy,  creates  jobs,  gives  consumers  more  choice  and  buying 
power, and helps European firms compete abroad. 

…the EU is the largest exporter and importer of goods and services in the world. 
Small  and  medium-sized  businesses  play  an  important  role,  with  over  600  000 
of them accounting for one third of total EU exports. EU exports provide jobs for 
31 million Europeans, six million of them in small and medium-sized businesses. 
Overall, one in seven jobs in the EU depends on exports.

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G 20

… close to three fifths (59.0 %) of all EU 28 exports of goods are destined for G20 
members, most notably the United States (20.7 % share), China (9.5 %) and Russia 
(4.1 %). Collectively, the G20 members provide over three fifths (63.3 %) of the EU 
28’s imports of goods, with China (20.3 %), the United States (14.4 %) and Russia 
(7.9 %) being the main origins. 

… it is the G20, as Presidents Juncker and Tusk write in their letter to the EU Heads 
of State or Government, that should provide “guidance for the future global trade 
and  investment  agenda”:  “The  pledge  to  resist  protectionism  should  not  only  be 
renewed but reinforced in practice”.

… growth of trade and foreign investment has globally been slowing down, and the 
G20 should address this issue. The EU is committed to further open the markets 
and to level the playing fields, all while insisting on reciprocity and fairness.

… on the matter of overcapacity, the EU points out that “urgent and effective action 
is needed to cut overcapacity” in the steel and other sectors, including by tackling 
subsidies and other market-distorting measures that have contributed to it.

… the EU also calls for a swift ratification and full implementation of the World Trade 
Organisation (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement, and for opening up discussions in 
the WTO to new issues such as digital trade, investment or export restrictions.

EU28/G20 MEMBERS EXPORTS AND IMPORTS OF GOODS IN 2015 (IN BILLION €)

35

28

CANADA
371

249

US

34

19

MEXICO

IMPORTS
 FROM 
THE EU

EU28/G20
EXPORTS
TO THE
EU

136

74

RUSSIA

79

TURKEY

62

21

40

170

350

48

60

42

57

JAPAN

38

39

CHINA

SOUTH
KOREA

SAUDI ARABIA

INDIA

10

15

INDONESIA

32

10

AUSTRALIA

35

31

BRAZIL

9

8

ARGENTINA

25

19

SOUTH AFRICA

16

Source: Eurostat

G 20

… The European Union’s trade and investment strategy of 2015, entitled ‘Trade for 
All: Towards a more responsible trade and investment policy’, bases the EU trade 
policy on three key principles:

1.  Effectiveness:  Making  sure  trade  actually  delivers  on  its  promise  of  new 
economic opportunities. That means addressing the issues that affect today’s 
economy,  which  involves  services  and  digital  trade.  It  also  means  including 
provisions for SMEs in future trade agreements.

2.  Transparency: Opening up negotiations to more public scrutiny by publishing 
key  negotiating  texts  from  all  negotiations,  as  has  been  done  in  the  trade 
negotiations with the US. 

3.  Values: Using trade agreements as levers to promote European values like 
sustainable  development,  human  rights,  fair  and  ethical  trade  and  the  fight 
against corruption. This means including rules on anti-corruption rules or labour 
standards in future trade agreements with third countries.  

More information on the EU’s Trade strategies: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/

CLIMATE  ACTION  AND  ENERGY:  MAKING  THE  TRANSITION  TO  A  LOW-
CARBON, SECURE AND COMPETITIVE ECONOMY HAPPEN

The EU has been on the forefront in pushing for a global deal for climate change 
in  Paris,  last  December.  Now  is  the  time  to  focus  on  ratification  and,  even  more 
important, implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Did you know that…

… in the margins of the Paris Agreement, the EU has tabled the most ambitious 
contribution so far, in line with the objective of limiting temperature increases to 
well below 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

17

G 20

CUT GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BY AT LEAST  40% 

2020
2030

-20%

-40%
(Compared to 1990)

INCREASE THE SHARE OF THE RENEWABLE IN THE ENERGY MIX TO  27%

2020

20%

2030

27%

IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY BY AT LEAST  27%

2020
2030

+20%

+27%

(Compared to the “Business-as-usual” scenario)

… the EU’s climate policy is based on an EU-wide carbon market (the EU Emissions 
Trading System), ambitious yet fair national greenhouse gas reduction targets for 
the sectors outside the Emissions Trading System, and an energy policy to make the 
EU the world’s number one in renewable energy.

… the EU has already cut emissions by 24% since 1990 and has set clear targets 
for 2030:

- to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40%; 
- to have at least 27% of EU energy consumption from renewables; 
- to improve energy efficiency by at least 27%.

More info on the EU’s Climate action policies: http://ec.europa.eu/clima/index_en.htm

IMPLEMENTING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS 

Did you know that…

…  the  EU  remains  the  world’s  largest  provider  of  development  assistance.  In 
2015  alone,  the  EU  and  its  Member  States  collectively  provided  €68.2  billion  of 
development assistance to partner countries – more than all other donor countries 
combined. 

18

G 20

…  the  EU  played  an  important  role  in  shaping  the  2030  Agenda  and  the  Addis 
Ababa  Action  Agenda,  which  aim  to  eradicate  poverty  and  achieve  sustainable 
development. The EU is committed to implementing the 2030 Agenda by:

•  helping developing countries to mobilise more domestic resources, improve 
public finance management and ensure debt sustainability, notably, though its 
new approach ‘collect more spend better’. The EU provides an average of EUR 
140 million annually to support domestic public finance in these countries.

•  adopting an integrated approach to key sectors e.g. trade (by importing € 860 
billion annually from developing countries), science, technology and innovation 
(EU’s € 77 billion research and innovation programme also open for participation 
from developing countries), sustainable agriculture and energy (The EU helps 
to lift 500 million people out of energy poverty by 2030)

… the EU is leveraging more development funding through blending and seeking 
further partnerships with the private sector. 

…  in  the  coming  months,  the  Commission  will  make  a  proposal  for  a  new  and 
ambitious External Investment Plan in order to mobilise investments in developing 
third  countries,  building  on  the  experience  of  the  successful  Investment  Plan  for 
Europe. 

… the EU will also continue to play a leading role in implementing the 2030 Agenda 
with concrete contributions: the new initiative on the circular economy, the EU Energy 
Union, the follow-up to the Paris Climate Agreement, a reformed Common Fisheries 
Policy, the reformed Common Agricultural Policy, the European pillar of social rights, 
our  activities  on  Corporate  Social  Responsibility  for  example  along  global  supply 
chains, and our strategic frameworks for gender equality actions.

More on the EU’s International cooperation and development policies: 
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/home_en

19

 
 
  
 
G 20

THE EU AT YOUR SERVICE

Did you know that…

…  the  EU  Newsroom  (http://europa.eu/newsroom/index_en.htm)  is  the  European 
Union’s  online  media  hub,  where  journalists  can  retrieve  and  subscribe  to  all 
press releases, calendars, audiovisual materials and useful information of all EU 
institutions  and  bodies.  In  addition,  the  European  Commission’s  Press  Release 
Database (http:// europa.eu/rapid/latest-press-releases.htm) and the Commission’s 
News Page (http://ec.europa.eu/news/index_en.htm) are important sources.

…  “Europe  by  Satellite”  (Ebs)  (http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/ebs)  covers  EU  news 
in Brussels and abroad and distributes free of charge TV footage to broadcasters, 
journalists and social media.

… the Eurobarometer (http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/index_en.htm) is the major 
reference  point  for  updated  public  opinion  trends  on  everything  from  citizens’ 
perception of the EU to which policies matter to them.

… the European Commission’s Visitor’s Centre is a key communication tool giving its 
visitors an insight into the work and functioning of the Commission as the executive 
of the EU while explaining our policies and main priorities and that it receives 50,000 
visitors a year.

…  the  European  Commission  can  organise  information  seminars/events  for 
journalists (currently 35-60 journalist seminars are organised every year) on the 
political  priorities  of  the  Commission.  The  seminars  are  designed  to  give  media 
professionals  the  background  information  to  better  understand  decision-making 
process and key EU policies.

… all EU publications can be ordered or downloaded through the website https://
bookshop.europa.eu/en/home/.  EU  Bookshop  is  an  online  bookshop,  library  and 
archive of publications dating back to 1952.

20

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