European Council

Monday 12 October 2015
16:00 Meeting with Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova Valeriu Streleț (photo opportunity)

 Tuesday 13 October 2015
08:00 Meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg (NATO headquarters)
13:00 Meeting with President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker

 Wednesday 14 October 2015
10:00 Meeting with President of Latvia Raimonds Vējonis (photo opportunity)
14:00 Meeting with High Representative Federica Mogherini
15:00 Meeting with Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Bohuslav Sobotka
18:00 Inauguration of the exhibition "Bulgaria's Golden Treasures: Varna and the Oldest Gold in the World" (European Parliament)

 Thursday 15 October 2015
09:30  Tripartite social summit
12:30  Press conference of the Tripartite social summit
13:15  European People's Party Summit (Académie Royale de Belgique)
14:45 Meeting with Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan Löfven
15.15 Meeting with Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel
16:00  European Council

 Friday 16 October 2015
TBC  European Council

Place:             LEX building - Rue de la Loi, 145, Brussels 
Chair:             Mr Jean Asselborn, Minister of Immigration and Asylum of Luxembourg

All times are approximate and subject to change

+/- 12.30         Arrivals (live streaming)

14.20              Doorstep by Minister Asselborn

+/- 14.30         Beginning of Council meeting
                         Adoption of the agenda
           
+/- 14.40         Follow-up to the Council of 14 September 2015
                       
                         Proposal for a Council Decision establishing provisional measures in the area
                         of international protection for the benefit of Italy and Greece.

                        Any other business

tbc                   Press conference (live streaming)

Your Excellency,

On behalf of the European Council, I wish to congratulate you on winning the elections in Greece. I hope that the elections will now provide for the political stability necessary to face all the challenges at hand.

Many of the biggest challenges facing the European Union as a whole are the same as those facing Greece as a country, such as the refugee crisis and the creation of sustainable growth and jobs. I trust that Greece, with your new Government will contribute constructively in seeking solutions to all those challenges. Your dedication and leadership in implementing the economic adjustment programme is crucial in order to make a difference in the recovery of the Greek economy.

I look forward to once again working closely with you and welcoming you at the extraordinary informal meeting of EU Heads of State or Government this Wednesday.

Yours sincerely,
Donald Tusk

 Today's meeting with King Abdullah II was fruitful and constructive. It was an important opportunity to discuss topics of common concern, such as the Syria crisis and the impact of refugees, the fight against terrorism, and developments in our neighbourhood including in the Middle East Peace Process.

The deterioration of the situation in Syria is causing more and more people to flee, seeking safety elsewhere. I commend the generosity of Jordan and its people in hosting and assisting Syrian refugees, despite the challenges this poses. Later today, I will visit a refugee camp to assess the situation there and see how the European Union might help further. We will continue to support Jordan in this.

The EU is committed to achieving peace, stability and security in Syria, as well as the wider region. We share a strong interest in doing so. I will report to EU leaders on today's exchange, as well as from my other recent trips, at the informal European Council on 23 September. 

The European Union also appreciates Jordan's continued efforts in countering extremism and fighting terrorism. I hope that the EU and Jordan will be able to further strengthen security cooperation. Our strong relations make us natural partners in working together in the face of shared challenges.

I conveyed to His Majesty our strong support for the political reform process in Jordan, aimed at strengthening democracy, justice and the rule of law. I encourage ongoing implementation, in spite of the difficult regional environment.

The European Union is firmly committed to continue working together for the benefit of Jordan and Jordanians, and to make our partnership stronger in these difficult times.

President Al-Sisi, thank you for welcoming me to Cairo today, for our first meeting. It is a pleasure to visit Egypt as President of the European Council.

Today President Al-Sisi and I had the opportunity to discuss important issues of common concern, and ways to tackle them together. First and foremost, we discussed the current migration and refugee crisis affecting Europe, Egypt and the whole region. I outlined what the EU is doing and plans to do to address this challenge. I was interested to hear the President's thoughts on how the current crisis, and its root causes, could be managed. I feel it is important to hear the views of our partners as we face this challenge together. I will share the important input of our discussions today with European leaders at next week's extraordinary European Council. I look forward to our continued cooperation in this area, and I very much welcome Egypt's contribution to the Valletta Summit in November.

We also discussed the scourge of terrorism, which affects both Egypt and the European Union. I can only reiterate my condemnation of all acts of terrorism, wherever they occur. The European Union is committed to fighting terrorism with our partners. We will continue to do so, based on the rule of law.

I welcome the preparations for Egypt's parliamentary elections in the coming months. During our meeting, I highlighted the importance of implementing the new Constitution, approved by Egyptians last year, which goes a long way in protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. I also highlighted the importance of checks and balances within the state.

As mentioned during our meeting, the European Union is committed to standing by Egypt. We will continue to support social and economic reforms, to the benefit of the Egyptian people.

This was our first meeting and we had much to discuss. I look forward to our continued cooperation and dialogue, both on the EU's support to Egypt, and on working together to address common challenges.

Thank you again, Mr President.

The crisis we are all witnessing is a test of our humanity and responsibility. It causes many tensions and accusations among politicians and people in Europe. I have no illusions that Europe will need to deal with this challenge for many years to come. Therefore I would like us to focus on the overall approach to this crisis. 

Our response will not obscure the brutal reality however. We as Europeans are currently not able to manage our common external borders, hence some States decided to protect themselves by closing their national ones. The protection of the European community is our first duty and obligation and we have failed on this front. For too long our discussions have centred around shifting the responsibility onto others. There is a long list of issues where we could blame one another but it will not help us in finding a common solution. Today we must absolutely work out policies that we can implement in order to help each other. That is why I will ask all of us to honestly discuss what the EU can do to help its Member States in solving this problem. We will also need to discuss our responsibilities at a national level. No one should shy away from them because then we will be unable to build our joint European response based on unity and solidarity. Shifting the responsibility and putting the blame on one another must definitely come to an end. 

There are different experiences and perceptions within the EU and there are no easy solutions. Still it cannot be an excuse not to develop a comprehensive strategy or to build a sound migration policy that is effective and responsible while respecting our core values. The current 'migration policy' is a sum of despair of the victims fleeing war and persecution, of their determination in searching for a better life, of the cynicism of the smugglers, and too often, of the refugees and migrants' tragic fate. Therefore it is essential to establish a credible European migration policy. 

Besides discussing our overall approach to the crisis I want to address issues such as: help to the frontline Member States; cooperation with the Western Balkan countries, with Turkey and the countries bordering Syria; budgetary assistance to the High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme; and the implementation of our conclusions on return and readmission. We must also discuss diplomatic efforts in solving the Syria crisis. I will share with you my assessment of the situation after my visits in the countries of the Mediterranean region and the Middle East. 

There is however one issue which cannot wait. The World Food Programme needs money to provide food to 11 million people in Syria and in the region. The WFP has already cut substantially food support to refugees. I would like to appeal to all of you not to wait until our meeting and provide donations to the World Food Programme, in coordination with the ECHO. 

I hope we will be able to address all these challenges at our special meeting next Wednesday at 6pm. The President of the European Parliament will join us in the beginning of the meeting. After the exchange with President Schulz we will discuss the above-mentioned issues over dinner.   

I am looking forward to seeing you all in Brussels.     

D. TUSK

Saturday 19 September 2015

Visit to Egypt
11.30 Meeting with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi 

12.45 Joint press statement

 Sunday 20 September 2015

Visit to Jordan
12.00 Meeting with H.M. the King of Jordan, Abdullah II bin al-Hussein

Visit of a refugee camp 

Tuesday 22 September 2015

13.00 Meeting with President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker 

15.00 Meeting with High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini

Wednesday 23 September 2015

15.00  European People's Party Summit (Stanhope Hotel) 

18.00  Informal meeting of Heads of State or Government

Thursday 24 September 2015

09.00 Meeting with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron (photo opportunity)

11.45 Meeting with President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz (European Parliament)

The Council of the European Union,

1.           UNDERLINES the critical importance of the 2015 Paris Conference as a historic milestone for enhancing global collective action and accelerating the global transformation to a low-carbon and climate-resilient society. 

Urgency and need for global action

2.           NOTES with concern the findings contained in the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); UNDERLINES that global warming is unequivocal and that it is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. 

3.           STRESSES that, consistent with recent IPCC findings, in order to stay below 2°C, global greenhouse gas emissions need to peak by 2020 at the latest, be reduced by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 1990[1] and be near zero or below by 2100; in this context, WELCOMES the Leaders' declaration at the G7 Summit in June 2015 and EMPHASISES that all Parties should pursue transformative pathways towards a long-term vision of global and sustainable climate neutrality and climate resilience in the second half of this century; RECALLS the EU objective, in the context of necessary reductions according to the IPCC by developed countries as a group, to reduce emissions by 80-95% by 2050 compared to 1990.

Paris outcome

4.           EMPHASISES the importance of agreeing at the Paris Conference: i) an ambitious and durable legally-binding agreement under the UNFCCC ("the Paris Agreement") applicable to all Parties and addressing in a balanced and cost-effective manner mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology development and transfer, capacity building and transparency of action and support and containing ambitious nationally determined mitigation commitments; ii) a comprehensive package of decisions to enable the implementation of the Paris Agreement and to outline interim arrangements before its entry into force; and iii) a decision on enhancing global pre-2020 mitigation ambition, supported by the Lima Paris Action Agenda. 

5.           UNDERLINES that the Paris outcome should send a strong signal on finance in order to support poor and vulnerable countries and enable the transition to resilient, low greenhouse gas economies.  

Further process in 2015

6.           NOTES the considerable amount of work still ahead in order to reach the Paris outcome; CONCERNED about the lack of substantial progress on the negotiating text up to now; ENCOURAGES the co-Chairs of the Ad hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) to prepare a revised and concise negotiating text containing the main options, on the basis of the views expressed by Parties, with a view to a fruitful early ministerial engagement before the Paris Conference. 

Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)

7.           WELCOMES the submission of INDCs so far; UNDERLINES that the EU and its Member States have submitted their INDC on 6 March 2015, which is a binding target of an at least 40% domestic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990; URGES all Parties which have not yet done so to come forward with fair and ambitious INDCs as soon as possible in the coming few weeks; in this context, WELCOMES opportunities for facilitative exchanges of views on the level of the aggregate effort towards the below 2°C objective, including through the forthcoming UNFCCC synthesis report and the INDC Forum in Rabat, Morocco, on 12-13 October 2015. 

Paris Agreement

8.           NOTES the Commission communication “The Paris Protocol - a blueprint for tackling global climate change beyond 2020” as a contribution for articulating a vision by the EU and its Member States in view of the Paris Conference. 

9.           PROPOSES that the internationally legally-binding Paris Agreement: 

-        provide a long-term vision of the needed transformation towards low-emission and climate-resilient economies over the course of this century; 

-        enable the participation of all Parties and engagement of non-state actors; 

-        be in the form of a protocol in order to enshrine the strongest expression of political will and provide predictability and durability; 

-   enter into force after ratification by a significant number of Parties representing a significant level of emissions so as to ensure that the Paris Agreement is truly global and effective.         

Mitigation

10.        PROPOSES that the Paris Agreement: 

-   set out a long-term global mitigation goal in line with the below 2°C objective; 

-   contain fair, ambitious and quantifiable mitigation commitments by all Parties, consistent with the UNFCCC's principles applied in light of different national circumstances and evolving economic realities and capabilities; 

-   provide that all Parties must have, maintain and implement such a mitigation commitment; 

-   contain a dynamic five-yearly mitigation ambition mechanism in which all Parties should be required to either submit new or updated commitments, without falling behind previous levels of commitment, or resubmit the existing ones; 

-   contain simplified procedures for the renewal and upward adjustment of mitigation commitments; 

-   include a compliance regime which promotes timely and effective implementation; 

-   provide flexibility for those countries with least capabilities. 

            Adaptation

11.        PROPOSES that adaptation must be a central part of a balanced Paris Agreement that: 

-        commits all Parties to plan, prepare for and respond to the adverse impacts of climate change, to integrate adaptation into national development processes and to communicate experiences in order to achieve climate-resilient sustainable development; 

-      calls on all Parties to strengthen monitoring, reporting, information-sharing and cooperation in order to increase effectiveness of adaptation actions; 

-      contains an iterative and dynamic approach to continuously enhance the effectiveness of adaptation measures and their implementation; 

-   contributes to assisting all countries, especially the poorest and particularly vulnerable ones, to achieve climate-resilient sustainable development; 

-   underlines that both ambitious action on mitigation and adaptation, including efficient disaster risk reduction, are essential to manage and reduce the risk of adverse impacts of climate change, including addressing the risk of loss and damage.   

12.        RECALLS the submission by the EU and its Member States on "European Union undertakings in adaptation planning". 

Use of markets

13.        STRESSES that the Paris Agreement should allow for the international use of markets, subject to the application of robust common accounting rules which ensure that the environmental integrity and the integrity of the mitigation commitments are maintained and double counting is avoided; and provide for market mechanisms which promote scaled-up and cost-effective mitigation action entailing a net contribution to global mitigation efforts and contributing to sustainable development. 

            Finance

14.        REAFFIRMS that the EU and its Member States have and remain committed to scaling up the mobilisation of climate finance in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency of implementation, in order to contribute their share of the developed countries' goal to jointly mobilise USD 100 billion per year by 2020 from a wide variety of sources public and private, bilateral and multilateral, including alternative sources of finance; in this context, RECALLS its conclusions on climate finance of 7 November 2014; REITERATES its strong support for the Green Climate Fund and LOOKS FORWARD to early allocation of initial funding; UNDERLINES that the Paris Agreement's provisions on climate finance need to be dynamic and able to adapt to changing realities and needs by reflecting Parties' evolving capabilities and responsibilities; furthermore, REFERS to its forthcoming conclusions on climate finance.            

Transparency and accountability

15.        UNDERLINES that the Paris Agreement must provide for a robust common rules-based regime, including transparency and accountability rules applicable to all Parties, while recognising that their application will differ according to commitment types which reflect Parties' capabilities and national circumstances; STRESSES that this regime should provide for the use of common metrics, respect the most recent IPCC guidelines and build on experience gained under the UNFCCC. 

16.        HIGHLIGHTS that the Paris Agreement should provide for a transparent accounting and reporting framework for emissions and removals for the land-use sector for all Parties, which promote sustainable land management, building on existing relevant decisions under the UNFCCC. 

            Joint fulfilment

17.        CONFIRMS that the EU and its Member States intend to fulfil their commitments jointly under the Paris Agreement; WELCOMES Norway's and Iceland's intention to participate in this joint fulfilment.  

            Other issues

18.        STRESSES the importance of human rights, gender equality, a gender-sensitive approach, a just transition of the work force, decent jobs, education and awareness raising as well as ensuring food security in the context of climate action. 

Implementation of the Paris Agreement

19.        PROPOSES the adoption of a comprehensive package of substantive decisions, in addition to a technical work programme, at the Paris Conference to further develop rules, modalities and procedures on inter alia transparency and accountability of mitigation commitments, including for the land-use sector, and on the international use of markets, to be completed by 2017, in order to enable the implementation of the Paris Agreement. 

Enhancing global pre-2020 ambition

20.        REITERATES that the EU and its Member States are already applying the Doha amendment to the Kyoto Protocol; STRESSES the determination of the EU and its Member States to complete the process of ratification of the Doha amendment in the third quarter of 2015; and INVITES other Parties to do likewise in order to ensure its prompt entry into force; in this context, UNDERLINES the need for adopting at the Paris Conference the implementation rules for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol as agreed in Warsaw and Lima. 

21.        STRESSES that all Parties need to act in order to close the pre-2020 mitigation gap; RECALLS the progress made under the ADP in identifying opportunities to enhance pre‑2020 mitigation ambition in areas of high mitigation potential, in particular energy efficiency, renewable energy, REDD+, short-lived climate pollutants, upstream methane emissions, HFCs, export credits and fossil fuel subsidy reform; UNDERLINES the importance of multilateral cooperation, in particular through the Lima Paris Action Agenda, aimed at identifying and accelerating actions in these areas; in this context, STRESSES the importance of involvement of and cooperation with non-State actors; UNDERLINES the importance to continue and intensify work on enhancing pre-2020 mitigation ambition beyond the Paris Conference, and to ensure continuity in the political attention for high mitigation potential options by linking the technical examination of mitigation options with regular high-level events building on the Lima Paris Action Agenda.  

22.        EMPHASISES that the examination of opportunities with high mitigation potential continues to be relevant beyond 2020 and can serve as an input to the process to raise global ambition under the Paris Agreement over time. 

23.        RECOGNISES the need to foster the continuing implementation of existing decisions under the UNFCCC; in this context, WELCOMES the completion of the REDD+ negotiations.  

Other processes

24.        While noting that the Paris Agreement should address emissions across all sectors subject to regular review and that emissions accounting and reporting should remain under the UNFCCC, UNDERLINES that IMO, ICAO, and the Montreal Protocol should regulate as soon as possible in an effective manner and in line with the below 2°C objective greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping and aviation and the production and consumption of HFCs respectively. 

25.        WELCOMES the outcome of the Addis Ababa Conference that strengthens the framework to finance sustainable development and the means of implementation for the universal 2030 agenda for sustainable development; LOOKS FORWARD to the upcoming UN Summit that will adopt the agenda “Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development” in order to address the universal challenge of poverty eradication and sustainable development and that confirms the importance of tackling climate change as a key element in confronting that challenge.

[1]           See for example 14790/09 (paragraph 7) and 14747/14 (paragraph 2).

The Council adopted the decision on the creation of a market stability reserve (MSR) for the EU greenhouse gas emission trading scheme (EU ETS). This new reserve aims at tackling structural supply-demand imbalances in the EU ETS.

When in a given year the total of emission allowances exceeds a certain threshold, a percentage of allowances will be automatically withdrawn from the market and placed into the  reserve. In the opposite case, allowances will be returned from the reserve to the market.

 In 2013, there was a significant surplus of allowances in the EU ETS, which was expected to grow over the following years. This  resulted from an imbalance between the supply and demand of allowances, since demand is flexible and affected, for instance, by economic cycles.

The presence of a large surplus lowers the prices of allowances and reduces the incentives for low-carbon investment. Therefore, if not addressed, the current market imbalance would affect the ability of the EU ETS to meet its targets in a cost effective manner in the future.

• A market stability reserve will be established in 2018 and operational from 1 January 2019
• "Backloaded" allowances (the 900 million allowances whose auctioning was postposed from the years 2014-2016 until 2019-2020) will be placed in the reserve
• Unallocated allowances from phase 3 of the EU ETS will be placed in the reserve in 2020
• The MSR review will take into account the reserve's impact on growth, jobs, industrial competitiveness and the risk of carbon leakage.

The Commission presented its proposal for a market stability reserve in January 2014, starting the legislative ordinary procedure. An informal agreement on a compromise text between the European Parliament and the Council was reached in May 2015. The Parliament endorsed the reform in July 2015. With the approval of the Council, the decision is now adopted in first reading.

The EU ETS, launched in 2005, aims at delivering the EU's  greenhouse gas emission reduction goals in an economically efficient manner. It is based on the so-called "cap-and-trade" approach: each year the EU establishes a limit (cap) for overall emissions from power plants, energy-intensive industry and commercial airlines covered by the system.

Within this limit, companies can buy and sell emission allowances. Each allowance gives the right to emit one tonne of CO2, the main greenhouse gas, or the equivalent of another greenhouse gas.

From 2013 to 2020, the cap is reduced annually by 1.74%. From 2021, the annual reduction will increase to 2.2%, reflecting the EU's new 2030 target for emission reductions.

The establishment of the market stability reserve is the fist step of a wider review of the EU ETS proposed by the Commission this year.

On 18 September 2015, the Council appointed the members of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) for the period from 21 September 2015 to 20 September 2020. 

The EESC is the European Union body which represents employers, workers and other groups and associations of civil society, notably in socio-economic, civic, professional and cultural areas. 

The Committee has 350 members from the 28 EU countries. 

Members are nominated by national governments and appointed by the Council for a renewable 5-year term of office. The latest renewal was in October 2010 for the mandate 2010-2015.

Place:        Justus Lipsius building, Brussels
Chair(s):    Carole Dieschbourg, Minister for the Environment of Luxembourg

All times are approximate and subject to change

+/- 09.45         Doorstep by Minister Dieschbourg

+/- 10.00         Beginning of Environment Council meeting
                         Adoption of the agenda

+/- 10.05         Approval of non-legislative A items
                        Approval of legislative A items (in public session)

+/- 10.15         Preparations for Paris UN Climate Change Conference

+/- 12.45         AOB
                        Cycling as a mode of transport

+/- 14.00        Press conference (in public session)

followed by   Working Lunch

On 16 September 2015, the Council's Permanent Representatives Committee backed a Commission proposal to help Greece maximise its use of EU funds and improve liquidity for boosting growth and creating jobs. The proposal's main objective is to address the lack of public funds available for much needed investments in Greece, and to ensure that the concerned European structural and investment funds deliver their benefits as rapidly as possible on the ground. The approved measures are exceptional and designed to respond to the unique situation created by the financial crisis in Greece.

The draft regulation would improve the liquidity of Greece by around €2.0 billion. This would be achieved in the following ways:  

• An increase in advance payments by a total of 7 percentage points in 2015 and 2016 for the funding of the 2014-2020 period. This concerns the European social fund, the European fund for regional development, the cohesion fund and the European maritime and fisheries fund. This measure would make available an additional €1 billion in 2015 and 2016. Advance payments are made by the Commission to the member states automatically after the adoption of each operational programme to accelerate the implementation of the planned measures.
  
  
• An increase in the maximum EU co-financing rates to 100% for the 2007-2013 programmes financed by the cohesion fund, the European social fund and the European fund for regional development. Greece already benefits from a higher EU co-financing for this period: in many cases the EU covers 95% of the total investment costs, rather than the usual 85%. In addition, there would be an early release of the last 5% of the remaining EU payments normally retained until the closure of the programmes for the 2007-2013 period. Together with the increase of the co-financing rates this would make available an additional €1 billion in 2015 and 2016.

The total €2 billion would be frontloaded within the 2014-2020 period and be budgetary neutral over the same period.

The position agreed by the Council serves as a mandate for the Luxembourg presidency to hold discussions with representatives of the European Parliament. Once an agreement between the Council and the Parliament is reached both institutions have to formally approve the outcome.

The purpose of cohesion policy is to reduce disparities between the levels of development of the EU's various regions by promoting economic growth, job creation and competitiveness.

The EU funds are the biggest source of foreign direct investment in Greece. Under the 2007-2013 programming period almost €42 billion are allocated to Greece. They consist of around €24 billion from EU structural and cohesion funds, the fisheries and rural development funds, and around €17 billion for direct payments to farmers and support measures for agricultural markets. Until now, Greece has received €38.4 billion, corresponding to 17.5% of average annual Greek GDP over that period. An amount of nearly €2 billion for cohesion policy is still available; if it is not used by the end of 2015 it would be lost.  

For the 2014-2020 period, more than €35 billion have been earmarked for Greece. They consist of € 20 billion European structural and investment funds and over €15 billion for direct payments to farmers and support measures for agricultural markets. Out of this foreseen allocation, €4.5 billion have already been paid between 2014 and July 2015.

Four judges and one advocate-general to the Court of Justice were appointed by the representatives of the governments of the member states on 16 September 2015.

Ms Camelia Toader (Romania) and Mr Marko Ilešič (Slovenia) were reappointed as judges for a further six years. Mr Michail Vilaras (Greece) and Mr Eugene Regan (Ireland) were appointed as judges and Mr Manuel Campos Sánchez-Bordona (Spain) as advocate-general to the Court of Justice. All appointments apply to a term of office from 7 October 2015 to 6 October 2021.

The representatives of member states' governments appointed Mr Ian Stewart Forrester as judge to the General Court to replace Mr Nicholas Forwood (both United Kingdom) for the remainder of the latter's term of office from 1 October 2015 to 31 August 2019. They also reappointed Mr Juraj Schwarcz (Slovakia) and Mr Heikki Kanninen (Finland) as judges to the General Court from 1 September 2016 to 31 August 2022.

The Court of Justice of the European Union is composed of three courts: the Court of Justice itself, the General Court and the Civil Service Tribunal.

The Court of Justice is currently composed of 28 judges and nine advocates-general. In line with a Council decision from 2013 the number of advocates-general will increase to eleven with effect from 7 October 2015. Every three years a partial replacement of judges and advocates-general takes place. The term of office of 14 judges and of four advocates-general expires on 6 October 2015. Ten judges (from Belgium, Spain, Poland, Luxembourg, Croatia, Finland, Estonia, Slovakia, Hungary, Denmark) and four advocates-general (from the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark and the Czech Republic) were already appointed on 24 September 2014, on 1 April and 12 June 2015 for the 2015 partial replacement exercise. This means that the 2015 partial replacement exercise has now been completed. However, the advocate-general from Bulgaria still needs to be appointed to take account of the increase by two in the number of advocates-general.

The General Court is currently composed of 28 judges. As in the Court of Justice a partial replacement of judges every three years takes place in the General Court. The terms of office of 14 judges expires on 31 August 2016.

The judges and advocates-general of the Court of Justice and the judges of the General Court are appointed for a term of office of six years, which is renewable. The judges of the Court of Justice elect from amongst themselves a president for a renewable term of three years. The same applies to the General Court.

I have learnt with great sorrow of the horrific accident provoked by the collapse of a crane at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. 

My thoughts are with the families of the victims. On behalf of the European Union, I would like to convey my sincere condolences to the bereaved families and wish a prompt recovery to the wounded.

1. The Eighth Summit between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the European Union (EU) took place in Seoul on September 15, 2015. The ROK was represented by President Park Geun-hye and the EU was represented by Mr. Donald Tusk, President of the European Council and Commissioner Cecilia Malmström representing the President of the European Commission. 

Thank you, Madam President, for your kind words and warm welcome. During challenging times, such as we are facing now in Europe with the refugee crisis, it is important to remain in close touch with old friends and resolute partners.

And, indeed, the European Union and the Republic of Korea are close. We share the same principles and hopes. And we share the same values, which lie at the heart of our strategic partnership. Europe is now this country's largest investor, helping to generate jobs and wealth here. We are working closely on shared foreign policy challenges. Together, we are breaking new ground in science and technology.

Madam President, let me touch on some of the topics we covered today that stand out for me: I was impressed with progress in relations across your region over the summer. The announcement of a new trilateral summit between Korea, China and Japan shows the efforts you have been making on this front. This endeavour will be decisive in strengthening the stability and prosperity of your region in the coming years.

I also want to congratulate you on how you helped transform the recent crisis at the border with your neighbour to the North into a settlement, which could herald positive developments. I wish you success with the family reunions' programme - the most simple but also the most evocative way to build bridges between your two countries. I also welcome efforts to have more exchanges between ROK and DPRK, and so to better cope with future stresses and strains that are sure to arise. The European Union supports a peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula and we really appreciate your personal engagement.

At the summit, we discussed regional issues affecting the European neighbourhood. I expressed my thanks to Korea for having voted in favour of United Nations General Assembly Resolution condemning Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea. We also agreed to support full and rapid implementation of the Minsk Agreements by all sides. This also includes Russia.

We both view investing in science and technology as key to generating future jobs and growth in our economies. We have seen a major leap in exchanges of researchers, of joint projects between Korean and European institutions and the opening of new areas of cooperation, such as the commitment to work jointly on development of 5G. Today, we agreed to further strengthen our cooperation in this area.

We also agreed to explore ways to use our Free Trade Agreement to grow closer together on both trade and investment. The three framework agreements we have signed since 2010 go beyond trade, investment and economic cooperation, however. They have also opened up the possibility to work together in the political and security spheres. We have already deepened our efforts in this area since the last summit. And I was very gratified to hear today of your country's intention to expand cooperation further with us, such as in the counter-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa.

We lastly discussed in our meetings the global challenges that we face around the world. Again, we discussed solutions to better tackle those challenges, whether it be countering threats such as terrorism or climate change.

In three months, Paris will see one of the most important international events of the year: the UN climate conference, whose goal is to adopt a new climate change agreement. Climate change may put at risk not only the environment, but also prosperity, or even more broadly stability and security. To reach the deal, the European Union submitted the most ambitious contribution to date. In order to succeed, we need others, in particular major economies like the Korean, to join our lead in this process.

I end our meetings today absolutely optimistic for the future of our relations. I am confident that the friendship and strategic partnership we enjoy is expanding and deepening, and  will continue to do so. Thank you, Madam President.

After the discussions on migration held today in the Council in the presence of Schengen associate countries, the Presidency, supported by a large majority of delegations, draws the following conclusions:

"I am delighted that the Council has now been able to adopt this Decision. This is an important political message...".

Jean Asselborn, President of the Council 

The Council adopted a decision establishing provisional measures in the area of international protection for the benefit of Italy and Greece.

This decision establishes a temporary and exceptional relocation mechanism over two years from the frontline member states Italy and Greece to other member states. It will apply to persons in clear need of international protection who have arrived or are arriving on the territory of those member states as from 15 August 2015 until 16 September 2017.

Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg's Minister for Immigration and Asylum and President of the Council said: "I am delighted that the Council has now been able to adopt this Decision. This is an important political message. Indeed, the first relocations of people in need of international protection can start quickly. At the same time, the "hotspots" in Italy and Greece now have the necessary legal basis to start working.  Now that the Council is discussing an additional emergency relocation proposal, it is very important to see that the first mechanism is set up and begins to produce its effects".

The representatives of the governments of the member states meeting within the Council agreed by consensus on 20 July on the distribution of 32 256 persons. They also agreed to update the figures by December 2015 with a view to reaching the overall number of 40 000 in accordance with the commitment taken at the European Council on 25-26 June 2015.  

The member states participating in the mechanism will receive a lump sum of 6 000 EUR for each relocated person. 

The special procedure for the adoption of the decision establishes that the Council will consult the European Parliament. On 9 September the European Parliament adopted its opinion.  

Denmark and the United Kingdom are not participating in this decision.

The Council adopted a positive assessment that the conditions to move to the first step of phase two on the high seas of EUNAVFOR MED have been met, the naval operation having fulfilled all military objectives related to phase 1 focusing upon the collection and analysis of information and intelligence.

This assessment is part of the formal steps required in the process of transitioning the operation to phase 2 on the high seas and will be followed soon by a force generation conference and approval of rules of engagement for phase 2 on the high seas. Once these rules are agreed and the Operation Commander indicates that he has the required assets, the EU Ambassadors within the Political and Security Committee will decide when to launch the first step of phase 2.

This important transition will enable the EU naval operation against human smugglers and traffickers in the Mediterranean to conduct boarding, search, seizure and diversion on the high seas of vessels suspected of being used for human smuggling or trafficking, within international law.

The Council prolonged by 6 months the application of EU restrictive measures targeting actions against Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.  

The asset freeze and travel bans against 149 persons and 37 entities have been extended until 15 March 2016.

The assessment of the situation did not justify a change in the regime of sanctions nor in the list of persons and entities under restrictive measures. One deceased person was removed from the list.

The legal acts are available in the EU Official Journal of 15 September 2015.