Debate: Conclusions of the European Council meeting of - March
Date: WEDNESDAY, 29 MARCH 2023
Speaker: Charles Michel
Language: FR

Ladies and gentlemen, the world is more dangerous and predictable today. The multilateral rules-based order is under threat and this is precisely why we are strengthening our EU-United Nations cooperation. And it is why Secretary-General Guterres joined our European Council meeting last week.  Our discussions focused on three topics: the war in Ukraine, climate change and reform in the global financial system. Russia is attacking Ukraine and attacking our international rules-based system but the multilateral system is resisting and standing firm.  The UN has played a key role in finding concrete solutions on humanitarian support to refugees, on the Black Sea Grain Initiative and on nuclear facilities. The EU and United Nations also cooperate on many global issues such as climate change and, for instance, we have seen recently with the historic agreement on the High Seas Treaty.  The 27 EU leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals, and rediscussed the importance of reforming the global financial system to fight poverty and to make the world fairer.  Ladies and gentlemen, President Zelenskyy has addressed every European Council since the start of the war, and last week was no exception. And President Zelenskyy made one thing very clear: to defend itself, Ukraine needs more weapons and more ammunition. We endorsed the decision on ammunition agreed by the Foreign Affairs Council. We acted quickly. It took barely six weeks after Prime Minister Kallas proposed the idea and when we tasked the High Representative with taking it forward.  Our goal is to provide 1 million rounds of ammunition within the next 12 months. The European Peace Facility and the European Defence Agency will help to get it done. And this joint EU initiative constitutes a major new step towards a genuine European defence.  We also discussed the recent International Criminal Court’s decision. This is the beginning of a process to hold Russian leaders accountable for their crimes in Ukraine. And we also agreed to step up efforts, along with our partners, to prevent the circumvention and backfilling of our sanctions. Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday I was in Moldova, where we shared the EU’s strong message of solidarity with the Moldovans. We also prepared the 2nd meeting of the European Political Community, which will take place in Chișinău on 1 June. Moldova is under growing pressure from Russia. It needs our support. We have mobilised over EUR 1 billion in the past year to support its resilience and stability and we are ready to do more. That’s why we’ve invited the Commission to present a support package for Moldova before summer.  Ladies and gentlemen, dear colleagues, we also had an important debate on our long-term competitiveness, and we agreed to focus on three areas. First, building smarter regulation. We need to make life easier for our businesses and create the conditions for our businesses to flourish right here in the EU. And this means cutting red tape, faster permitting, shorter deadlines, easier procedures and digital solutions.  Second, unlocking investment to ensure our long-term competitiveness. We need massive investments in technology, innovation, connectivity. Financing is the lifeblood of our European businesses, especially our SMEs, so we need to make it easier for them to get the private capital and investment they need to innovate, scale up and thrive. And we have the financial means at our disposal. Savings represent EUR 1.5 trillion in the European Union. The Capital Markets Union will help make this happen. It’s time to speed up work and get this done.  And, third point, boosting research and innovation. The EU needs to become a powerhouse of innovation, especially in areas with tremendous growth potential like renewable and cleantech. We will therefore increase investment in R&D, help innovative products and services get on the markets.  We also discussed trade – essential to our prosperity. Since the 1950s, trade has grown from 5 % to 25 % of our GDP, and we need to consider a number of issues. Trade is influenced by geopolitics, and we must navigate our trade relations in this complex landscape.  In relation to the US, we are a close and strategic ally. In recent months, we have discussed our economic cooperation, notably on the IIA and the WTO reform. We are working together with the United States to find a solution to the issues raised by the IRA.  As for China, we face the reality as it is today. China is a major trading partner and has become more assertive and more challenging. So we need to be clear on our goal. We want to derisk, not to the decouple.  It’s also important to maintain a multilateral trade system with a reformed World Trade Organization at its core, and this includes its dispute settlement mechanism. The 27 leaders agreed to continue our ambitious trade agenda while defending our interests.  On migration, we continued our work from last month’s summit. We are implementing the concrete measures agreed, and the Council Presidency and the Commission updated us on the progress so far. We will continue our work on this. It’s a priority for us all. Dear colleagues, we also held on Friday a Euro Summit with the participation of Christine Lagarde and Paschal Donohoe. And this meeting focused on two key points.  First, the current economic and financial situation. Our economies entered 2023 on a healthier footing than expected but the impact on inflation remains a serious concern, and we agreed to continue to closely coordinate our economic policy responses and we also reiterated that the economic governance framework is key for a strong economic and monetary union. Second, we focused on our European financial architecture. Our banking sector is resilient, with strong capital and liquidity positions, and the banking union has significantly strengthened our resilience. But we should not be complacent. We therefore called for continued efforts to complete our banking union. Speeding up progress on the Capital Markets Union is also a top priority.  The EU is a staunch defender of multilateralism, and the rules-based international order will continue to work to make Europe stronger and more sovereign, and to make the world a fairer place for everyone.