European Union

Following a meeting with the party’s leadership, Maximilian Krah, MEP for the Alternative for Germany (AfD/ID), brought in connection with a Chinese spy probe, stated that he will continue to run as EU lead candidate.

As member states prepare to ramp up the building renovation rate, there is an unprecedented opportunity to hardwire health aspects into the built environment. The brand-new edition of the Healthy Buildings Barometer maps why and how health, energy and climate...

Kneipp v EUIPO - Patou (Joyful by nature)
Intellectual and industrial property
EU trade marks: the General Court confirms that the reputation of a trade mark is acquired and, in general, lost progressively

Naass and Sea-Watch v Frontex
Law governing the institutions
The General Court partially annuls the Frontex decision refusing a request by Sea-Watch for access to documents

High intensity, state-to-state war in Ukraine is forcing the European Union to reenergise its defence industrial base on a large scale to defend Western democratic values. At the same time, the EU is preparing for future challenges, developing the most innovative, high-end capabilities. The EU and the European Defence Agency (EDA) are accelerating efforts in support of Ukraine and for the defence of Europe.   

 

In the Agency’s annual report for 2023, we provide an overview of EDA’s milestones reached and achievements over the year. Our highlights include: 

• Denmark joining as EDA’s 27th member 

• Deepening ties with the United  States Department of Defense through an Administrative Arrangement 

• Agreeing the 2023 Capability Development Priorities across the five military domains 

• Stepping up in 2023 with EDA’s two-year fast-track procedure for the joint procurement of 155mm artillery rounds, with a project arrangement signed by all EU Member States and Norway 

• Transferring EDA’s long-running helicopter programme to a new centre in Portugal 

• Achieving Initial Operational Capability for the multinational fleet of Airbus A330 tanker and transport aircraft, a project established by EDA  

Overall, in 2023, the Agency managed around 94 cooperative ad-hoc projects and programmes in capability development, training, and joint procurement, as well as Research and Technology (R&T) and innovation, with a total estimated value in the range of €664 million. 

2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the European Defence Agency. Over two decades, we have helped our armed forces to cooperate and invest better together. We continue to anticipate tomorrow's defence needs. The EDA’s added value for EU defence is sharply increasing. 

Download the full 2023 Annual Report here

Italy celebrates its liberation from Fascism on Thursday (25 April), an anniversary overshadowed by a censorship row at the public broadcaster centred on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right roots.

The European Parliament approved on Tuesday (23 April) new rules to make products sold in the EU more reusable, repairable, upgradeable, and recyclable.

The EU's refugee funding for Turkey does not have enough impact, while the European Commission has failed to present a sufficient cost analysis and long-term plan, EU auditors said in a report on Wednesday (24 April).

A memorial to hundreds of Roma killed at a World War II concentration camp on Tuesday (23 April) opened in the Czech Republic at the site of the camp that became a pig farm during communist rule when the slaughter was nearly forgotten.

Wednesday, 24 April

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Wednesday, 24 April

Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Written by Jakub Przetacznik.

The EU is providing Ukraine with strong political and economic support, and future EU accession should support its reconstruction and modernisation, the cost of which is currently estimated at over €450 billion. This year’s Ukraine Recovery Conference will seek to improve coordination and cooperation among its allies.

EU-Ukraine relations

In 2014, the EU and Ukraine signed an association agreement and established a deep and comprehensive free trade area, deepening bilateral political and trade relations. Since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU and its Member States have committed over €143 billion in financial, economic, humanitarian, and military support for Ukraine, and have welcomed refugees. The sum includes €50 billion for the Ukraine Facility, approved in February, its recovery and its path to EU accession. The EU has also granted annual renewable autonomous trade measures (ATM) – suspending outstanding customs duties and quotas for Ukrainian products. An extension of the ATM until June 2025, reinforcing protection for sensitive agricultural products was approved by Parliament in plenary on 23 April 2024.

EU accession process

Ukraine made a formal request to join the EU after Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022. It was granted candidate country status in June 2022, and it unveiled its roadmap for decentralisation reform in November 2023, with a view to EU accession. In December 2023, EU Member States agreed to open accession negotiations. The European Commission submitted a draft negotiating framework for Ukraine on 12 March 2024 and, in its conclusions of 21‑22 March, the European Council invited the Council to ‘adopt them and to take work forward without delay’. The draft framework has three parts: accession negotiation principles; six negotiation clusters; and procedures. Once approved, the first intergovernmental conference will take place, the framework will be made public, and formal negotiations will begin. The key challenges for EU enlargement relate to agricultural, budgetary and cohesion policy reform, security and defence policy, and the mutual defence clause. Ukraine will have to make progress on its reform agenda, not least on fighting corruption and implementing the entire acquis.

Reconstruction and recovery

At the end of 2023, the cost of Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery was estimated at €452.8 billion over 10 years. The sectors with the greatest needs are housing (17 % of the total), transport (15 %), commerce and industry (14 %), agriculture (12 %), energy (10 %), social protection and livelihoods (9 %), and explosive hazard management (7 %). The sum is equal to 2.8 times Ukraine’s estimated 2023 nominal gross domestic product; to meet these needs will require international support. It is the joint assessment of Ukraine, the World Bank and the Commission that effective reconstruction will be crucial to secure adequate funding and resources, ensure a safe and secure environment, and overcome political challenges.

Ukraine Recovery Conference 2024

This year’s Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2024) will be held on 11 and 12 June in Berlin. The goal is to mobilise international support for recovery, reconstruction, reform and modernisation. URC2024 will focus on four themes: EU accession and related reforms; recovery of municipalities and regions; private-sector mobilisation for reconstruction and economic growth; and social recovery and human capital for the future of Ukraine. Integral to URC2024 will be the Recovery Forum, designed to offer a platform for dialogue, matchmaking and collaboration, and to enable local government and business representatives to interact.

Read this ‘at a glance note’ on ‘Ukraine‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.

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The United States and Russia are set to face off over nuclear weapons in space on Wednesday (24 April) at the United Nations Security Council, which is due to vote on a US-drafted resolution calling on countries to prevent an arms race in outer space.

In today’s edition of the Capitals, find out more about a Bulgarian pro-Russian MEP being nominated for a pro-NATO party list for the EU elections, a brewing conflict in the German coalition government, and so much more.

Russia will intensify strikes on Ukrainian storage bases that house Western-supplied weapons, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday (23 April), as the United States prepares to approve and deliver a long-delayed batch of new military aid.

Romania's Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the National Liberal Party (PNL) have decided to withdraw their joint candidate in the race for mayor of Bucharest, the two parties announced on Tuesday, two weeks before they are due to launch their campaign for local and European elections, both set for 9 June.

A sweeping foreign aid package easily passed the US Congress late on Tuesday (23 April) after months of delay, clearing the way for billions of dollars in fresh Ukraine funding amid advances from Russia's invasion force and Kyiv's shortages of military supplies.

In 27 March 2024, the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA Europe) hosted the inaugural edition of the European AI Roundtable in Brussels.

Elena Yoncheva, the EU lawmaker from the pro-Russian Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP/PES), is poised to join the electoral list of the Turkish minority party DPS - a very pro-EU and pro-NATO political force.