Category: Press Releases

The press release issued by the European Commission on 22 November 2022.

Today, the Commission has continued its response to the ongoing energy crisis by proposing a Market Correction Mechanism to protect EU businesses and households from episodes of excessively high gas prices in the EU. This complements measures to reduce gas demand and ensure security of supply through diversification of energy supplies. The new mechanism aims to reduce the volatility on European gas markets while safeguarding the security of gas supply.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and weaponisation of energy supplies, natural gas prices have seen unprecedented price peaks across the EU, reaching all-time highs in the second half of August this year. The extreme price spike over almost two weeks in August was highly damaging for the European economy, with contagion effects on electricity prices and an increase in overall inflation. The Commission is proposing to prevent the repetition of such episodes with a temporary and well-targeted instrument to automatically intervene on the gas markets in case of extreme gas price hikes. 

A safety ceiling on gas prices

The proposed instrument consists of a safety price ceiling of €275 on the month-ahead TTF derivatives. The Title Transfer Facility (TTF), which is the EU’s most commonly used gas price benchmark, plays a key role in the European wholesale gas market. The mechanism would be triggered automatically when both of the following conditions are met:

• the front-month TTF derivate settlement price exceeds €275 for two weeks;
• TTF prices are €58 higher than the LNG reference price for 10 consecutive trading days within the two weeks.

When these conditions are met, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) will immediately publish a market correction notice in the Official Journal of the European Union and inform the Commission, European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the European Central Bank (ECB). The following day, the price correction mechanism will enter into force and orders for front-month TTF derivatives exceeding the safety price ceiling will not be accepted. The mechanism can be activated as of 1 January 2023. 

Safeguards to ensure security of supply and market stability

The proposed Council Regulation contains safeguards to avoid disruption to the energy and financial markets. To help avoid security of supply problems, the price ceiling is limited to only one futures product (TTF month-ahead products) so that market operators will still be able to meet demand requests and procure gas on the spot market and over-the-counter. To ensure gas demand does not increase, the proposal requires Member States to notify within two weeks from the activation of the Market Correction Mechanism which measures they have taken to reduce gas and electricity consumption. Once today’s proposal for a Market Correction Mechanism is adopted in Council, the Commission will also propose to declare an EU-alert under the Save Gas for a Safe Winter regulation that was adopted in July, triggering mandatory gas savings to ensure demand reduction. In addition, there will be constant monitoring by ESMA, ECB, the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), the Gas Coordination Group and the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Gas (ENTSO-G).

To react to possible unintended negative consequences of the price limit, the proposal foresees that the mechanism can be suspended immediately at any time. This can happen:

• Automatically, with a deactivation, when its operation is no longer justified by the situation on the natural gas market, namely when the gap between the TTF price and the LNG price is no longer met during 10 consecutive trading days.
• By a Commission suspension decision when risks to the Union’s security of supply, to demand reduction efforts, to intra-EU flows of gas, or financial stability are identified.

There is also a possibility for the Commission to prevent the activation of the mechanism in case relevant authorities, including the ECB, warn of such risks materialising.

The press release issued by the European Commission on 21 November 2022.

At the COP27 UN Climate Change Conference which ended on Sunday morning in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, the European Commission showed ambition and flexibility to keep the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees within reach. After a difficult week of negotiations, a strong and united European effort helped secure a hard-fought deal to keep the targets of the Paris Agreement alive. The EU’s bridge-building also helped to put in place balanced new funding arrangements, with an expanded donor base, to help vulnerable communities to face loss and damage caused by climate change.

On mitigation, Parties agreed that limiting global warming to 1.5C requires rapid, deep and sustained reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions, reducing them by 43 percent by 2030 relative to the 2019 level. They also recognised that this requires accelerated action in this critical decade, and reiterated the call from the Glasgow Climate Pact for nationally determined contributions (NDCs) to be updated as necessary to align with the Paris Agreement temperature goal, by the end of 2023. They also affirmed that the Glasgow Climate Pact will guide a new Mitigation Work Programme to encourage Parties to align their targets and actions towards net zero.

On loss and damage, the Parties decided to establish new funding arrangements for assisting developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. This includes a new fund with a focus on addressing loss and damage, to be established by a transitional committee which would also look into expanding sources of funding.

The Implementation COP

The final COP27 outcomes today complement the many bilateral and multilateral agreements secured by the Commission in the past two weeks. President von der Leyen participated in the Leaders’ Summit at the beginning of COP27 and signed Partnerships with Kazakhstan on raw materials, batteries and renewable hydrogen and with Namibia on sustainable raw materials and renewable hydrogen, and announced with Egyptian president El-Sisi a Strategic Partnership on Renewable Hydrogen, which was signed by Executive Vice-President Timmermans and Commissioner Kadri Simson. President von der Leyen also launched Forest and Climate Partnerships with Congo, Guyana, Mongolia, Zambia and Uganda. The importance of nature to the interconnected climate and biodiversity crises will also be a key focus of the upcoming COP15 on Biodiversity, which takes place in Montreal, Canada in December.

At an event to take stock of the Global Methane Pledge launched by the EU and US one year ago, Mr Timmermans welcomed the growing support for this initiative, which is now backed by over 150 countries. Executive Vice-President Timmermans also announced a new Team Europe Initiative to provide over €1 billion of financing for helping Africa to adapt to climate change. During COP27 the EU also welcomed and endorsed South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Investment Plan, and signed a new Just Energy Transition Partnership with Indonesia at the G20 in Bali.

President Ursula von der Leyen said on the outcome of COP27: “COP27 has confirmed that the world will not backtrack on the Paris Agreement, and is an important step towards climate justice. However science is clear that much more is needed to keep the planet liveable. What is equally clear is that the EU played a key role in Sharm el-Sheikh and will not relent on its domestic and international climate action. I thank Executive Vice-President Timmermans and our negotiating team for working night and day to unblock the difficult talks, and avoiding a breakdown of the UNFCCC process that will remain critical. Our negotiating team was able to build trust with our partners around the world, by staying strong on mitigation and showing flexibility on funding for the loss and damage caused by climate change.”

The press release issued by the European Commission on 17 November 2022.

Today, the EU celebrates the fifth anniversary of the European Pillar of Social Rights, at the first European Employment & Social Rights Forum, taking stock of progress made, and looking ahead to what comes next.

Five years have passed after the proclamation of the European Pillar of Social Rights at the Gothenburg Social Summit in 2017 by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission. Since then, this commitment has been reaffirmed at the 2021 Porto Social Summit by EU leaders, social partners and civil society organisations. The Commission has put forward more than 130 initiatives to implement the Pillar in the Member States and deliver a social Europe that is fair, inclusive and full of opportunities.

These initiatives range from pay transparency and equality between women and men, minimum wages and investment in skills, to combatting child poverty, minimum income, and protecting workers’ safety and health.

After a strong socio-economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pillar’s principles remain highly relevant in the current context, where many households are struggling to make ends meet, faced with increased prices exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Delivering on the European Pillar of Social Rights

In March 2021, the Commission presented the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan. To date, the large majority of the measures set out in the plan have already either been adopted or launched by the Commission. The Pillar’s 5^th anniversary was celebrated at the first European Employment & Social Rights Forum in Brussels with, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, former Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Commissioner Schmit, and many other distinguished guests.

EU governments have endorsed the EU 2030 social targets included in the Pillar Action Plan and presented their national contributions to reaching these targets. Combined, Member States’ commitments set the EU firmly on the path to achieving or even exceeding the EU-wide targets. The national targets are the outcome of an intensive consultation process by Member States, including internal consultations with key social actors like social partners, non-governmental organisations and local authorities.

The three EU-wide targets, to be achieved by 2030, are:

1. At least 78% of people aged 20 to 64 should be in employment.
2. At least 60% of all adults should participate in training every year.
3. The number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion should be reduced by at least 15 million, including at least 5 million children, compared to 2019.

Examples of initiatives taken to implement the Pillar – structured around its three main chapters on the labour market, working conditions and social inclusion – are:

Equal opportunities and access to the labour market

• The Pact for Skills is a unique platform of cooperation that brings together public and private organisations like businesses, training providers and chambers of commerce, committing to concrete training offers for workers across Europe. It has 1,000 members now, and it has already gathered pledges to help train 6 million people. The Pact is a central element of the European Skills Agenda.
• Member States have adopted Council Recommendations on Micro-credentials and on Individual Learning Accounts. The Commission has also proposed to make 2023 the European Year of Skills, giving a fresh impetus for investment in skills across the EU.
• Existing inequalities are addressed in the European Gender Equality Strategy and several other initiatives, including tackling women’s underrepresentation in the labour market and the gender pay gap with the proposal on pay transparency, new rules on gender balance on corporate boards and the new Directive on work-life balance for working parents.
• Furthermore, to strengthen the Union of Equality, the Commission put forward an Anti-Racism Action Plan 2020-2025, an LGBTIQ Equality Strategy, and an EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation and the first-ever EU Strategy on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life.
•  The Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2021-2030 and the European Accessibility Act contribute to ensuring that persons with disabilities enjoy social inclusion and economic autonomy through employment, for example with the Disability Employment Package.
• To boost youth employment, the Commission presented a Youth Employment Support package in July 2020. This included an update of the Youth Guarantee, a Recommendation to make vocational education and training more modern, attractive, and flexible, and a renewed impetus for apprenticeships.

Fair working conditions

• The Directive for adequate minimum wages in the EU already entered into force and aims to ensure that work pays. The Directive creates a framework to improve the adequacy of minimum wages in countries with statutory minimum wages. It also aims to promote collective bargaining as well as better enforcement and monitoring in all Member States.
• The Commission proposal for a directive to improve the working conditions in platform work will ensure that people working through digital labour platforms can enjoy the labour rights and social benefits to which they are entitled. It will also support the sustainable growth of these platforms in the EU.
• EU strategic framework on health and safety at work 2021-2027 sets out the key actions needed to improve workers’ health and safety over the coming years. For instance, to effectively reduce exposure to asbestos, which can cause cancer, the Commission proposed to revise the Asbestos at Work Directive and introduce an even stricter occupational exposure limit to asbestos.

Social protection and inclusion

• The proposal for a Council Recommendation on adequate minimum income ensuring active inclusion calls on Member States to modernise their minimum income schemes to make them more effective, lifting people out of poverty, while promoting the labour market integration of those who can work. The Council has also adopted the Recommendation on ensuring a fair transition to climate neutrality.
• The European Care Strategy seeks to ensure quality, affordable and accessible care services across the EU and improve the situation for both care receivers and care givers. It includes proposals for Council Recommendations on the revision of the Barcelona targets on early childhood education and care, and on access to affordable high-quality long-term care.
• Member States adopted the Commission’s proposal for a European Child Guarantee. It aims to give children free and effective access to key services and promote equal opportunities for children at risk of poverty or social exclusion. The Commission also created the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness, which brings together Member States, cities and civil society to facilitate mutual learning, improve evidence and monitoring, and strengthen cooperation to combat homelessness throughout the EU.

The press release issued by the European Commission on 16 November 2022.

The press release issued by the European Commission on 16 November 2022.

The Commission calls upon the Council to take the necessary decisions without any further delay to allow Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia to fully participate in the Schengen area. In a Communication adopted today, the Commission takes stock of the three Member States’ strong record of achievements in the application of the Schengen rules.

For years, these Member States have significantly contributed to the well-functioning of the Schengen area, including during the time of the pandemic and more recently when faced with the unprecedented consequences of the war in Ukraine. While the three countries are already bound in part by the Schengen rules, the internal border controls with these Member States have not been lifted and therefore they do not enjoy the full benefits that come with being part of the Schengen area without internal border controls. Becoming fully part of the Schengen area is a requirement for these Member States and they should therefore be permitted to do so given that they fulfil the conditions.

An enlarged Schengen area without internal border controls will make Europe safer – through reinforced protection of our common external borders and effective police cooperation – more prosperous – by eliminating time lost at borders and facilitating people and business contacts – and more attractive – by significantly expanding the world’s largest common area without internal border controls.

Bulgaria has put in place a strong border management with efficient border surveillance and systematic border checks. Fight against cross-border crime is prioritised through international police cooperation, including with Europol. The Schengen Information System is well-established. Bulgaria also demonstrated that it has the necessary structures in place to ensure respect for fundamental rights, guaranteeing access to international protection, respecting the principle of non-refoulement.

Romania has high-quality and strong border management, including border surveillance and systematic border checks, and international police cooperation. Fight against irregular migration and trafficking in human beings are two priorities where Romania is active. The Schengen Information System is well established. Concerning the respect for fundamental rights, Romania has effective structures in place to guarantee access to international protection respecting the principle of non-refoulement.

Bulgaria and Romania successfully completed the Schengen evaluation process in 2011. The Council recognised the completion of the evaluation process in two separate Council Conclusions, but no Council decision on the lifting of internal borders has been taken for more than 11 years. Given the time passed since 2011, as well as with a view to strengthen mutual trust and in acknowledgement of the development of the Schengen rules since 2011, Bulgaria and Romania issued a Joint Declaration in the Council in March 2022. Bulgaria and Romania invited a team of experts on a voluntary basis under the coordination of the Commission to look into the application of the latest developments of the Schengen rules.

This voluntary fact-finding mission, which took place in October 2022, confirmed that Bulgaria and Romania have not only continued implementing the new rules and tools, but that they have also substantially reinforced the overall application of the Schengen architecture in all its dimensions. Moreover, these two countries proved to have a model track record of implementation of the Schengen rules.

In December 2021, the Council confirmed that Croatia had fulfilled the conditions required to join the Schengen area without internal border controls. The evaluation process took place from 2016 to 2020. It included a successful targeted verification visit in 2020 to verify the implementation of actions in external border management. Croatia has made considerable efforts to ensure that controls of external borders comply with fundamental rights obligations. In particular, Croatia set up an Independent Monitoring Mechanism in June 2021, which provides for independent human rights monitoring of border-related operations involving migrants and asylum-seekers. The Mechanism directly involves Croatian stakeholders and is guided by an independent Advisory Board. Croatia was the first Member State to put in place such a mechanism. A new agreement extending and reinforcing the Independent Monitoring Mechanism was signed on 4 November 2022. This new agreement fully reflects all the recommendations issued by the Advisory Board on 27 October 2022.

Next steps

Under the steer of the Czech Presidency, on 8 December the Justice and Home Affairs Council will vote on the full participation of Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia to the Schengen area without internal border controls.

The press release issued by the European Commission on 16 November 2022.

Today a landmark new set of EU rules for a safer and more accountable online environment enters into force with the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA applies to all digital services that connect consumers to goods, services, or content. It creates comprehensive new obligations for online platforms to reduce harms and counter risks online, introduces strong protections for users’ rights online, and places digital platforms under a unique new transparency and accountability framework. Designed as a single, uniform set of rules for the EU, these rules will give users new protections and businesses legal certainty across the whole single market. The DSA is a first-of-a-kind regulatory toolbox globally and sets an international benchmark for a regulatory approach to online intermediaries.

New responsibilities for digital services

The DSA introduces a comprehensive new set of rules for online intermediary services on how they have to design their services and procedures. The new rules include new responsibilities to limit the spread of illegal content and illegal products online, increase the protection of minors, give users more choice and better information. The obligations of different online players match their role, size and impact in the online ecosystem; an overview is available here.

All online intermediaries will have to comply with wide-ranging new transparency obligations to increase accountability and oversight, for example with new flagging mechanism for illegal content. But a special regime is introduced for platforms with more than 45 million users: for such very large online platforms or search engines, further obligations include wide-ranging annual assessments of the risks for online harms on their services – for example with regard to exposure to illegal goods or content or the dissemination of disinformation. Under the DSA, suitable risk mitigation measures will have to be put in place, and subject to independent auditing of their services and mitigation measures.

Smaller platforms and start-ups will benefit from a reduced set of obligations, special exemptions from certain rules, and most crucial increased legal clarity and certainty for operating across the whole EU’s single market.

Enhanced safeguards for fundamental rights online

The new rules protect users’ fundamental rights in the EU also in the online environment. New protections for the freedom of expression will limit arbitrary content moderation decisions by platforms, and offer new ways for users to take informed action against the platform when their content is moderated: for example, users of online platforms will now have multiple means of challenging content moderation decisions, including when these decisions are based on platforms’ terms and conditions. Users can complain directly to the platform, choose an out-of-court dispute settlement body or seek redress before Courts.

New rules also require platforms’ terms to be presented in a clear and concise manner and to respect users’ fundamental rights.

Very large online platforms and search engines will in addition have to undertake a comprehensive assessment of risks to fundamental rights, including the freedom of expression, the protection of personal data, and freedom and pluralism of the media online as well as the rights of the child.

New supervisory powers for the Commission

The DSA creates an unprecedented level of public oversight of online platforms across the Union, both at national and EU level. The Commission has powers to directly supervise VLOPs and VLOSEs, companies which individually reach more than 10% of the EU population, approximately 45 million people. Additionally, each Member State will have to designate a Digital Services Coordinator, who will supervise other entities in scope of the DSA as well as VLOPs and VLOSEs for non-systemic issues. The national coordinators and the European Commission will cooperate through a European Board of Digital Services. This EU-wide cooperation mechanism will be established between national regulators and the Commission.

The Commission is setting up a European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency (ECAT) to support its supervisory role with in-house and external multidisciplinary knowledge. The Centre will provide support with assessments as to whether the functioning of algorithmic systems are in line with the risk management obligations that the DSA establishes for VLOPs and VLOSEs to ensure a safe, predictable and trusted online environment.

Next Steps

Following the entry into force of the DSA today, online platforms will have 3 months to report the number of active end users (17 February 2023) on their websites. The Commission is also inviting all online platforms to notify to it the published numbers. Based on these user numbers, the Commission will make an assessment as to whether a platform should be designated a very large online platform or search engine. Following such a designation decision by the Commission, the entity in question will have 4 months to comply with the obligations under the DSA, including carrying out and providing to the Commission the first annual risk assessment exercise. EU Member States will need to empower their Digital Services Coordinators by 17 February 2024, the general date of entry in application of the DSA, when the DSA is fully applicable for all entities in its scope.

The press release issued by the European Commission on 15 November 2022.

The press release issued by the European Commission on 14 November 2022.

Women in the European Union still continue to earn less than men for equal job, with the average gender pay gap in the EU standing at 13%. This means that for every €1 a man earns, a women will make €0.87. Progress is steady, however still too slow, with a 2.8 percentage point gap reduction in 10 years. This year, European Equal Pay Day falls on 15 November.

Ahead of this symbolic day, Věra Jourová, Vice-President for Values and Transparency and Helena Dalli, Commissioner for Equality, said:

“Equal work deserves equal pay: this is a founding principle of the European Union. Solving the injustice of the gender pay gap cannot come without change to the structural imbalances in society. That is why this Commission doubled down efforts on gender equality and the root causes of pay inequality.

We are now in the final steps to see gender balance on corporate boards becoming a reality across the EU. We have already put new rights in place for women and men to have more choice and to better share caring responsibilities and work. And we count on the Member States to up their game on accessible, affordable, and high-quality early childhood education and long-term care – a prerequisite to support women’s participation in the labour market.

We need to empower women so that they can fulfill their potential.

However, an important piece of the puzzle is missing: pay transparency. Transparency contributes towards ending gender bias in pay from the outset and empowers workers to enforce their right to equal pay for the same work or work of equal value. We call on the European Parliament and the Council to adopt our proposed Pay Transparency Directive without undue delay.

Everyone benefits, when all are equal.”

Background

Nine out of ten Europeans – women and men – think that it is unacceptable that women are paid less than men for the same work or work of equal value. Majority of European workers is in favour of the publication of average wages by job type and gender at their company.

The gender pay gap is a symptom of more structural imbalances between men and women in economic representations, access to education, and household care responsibilities. Women are still underrepresented, and undervalued in positions of economic decision-making.  A large majority of scientists, engineers, and skilled technical workers are men. Women disproportionately bear the duties of household and childcare with 90% of the formal care workforce made up of women, and 7.7 million women out of employment because of care responsibilities.

In March 2020, the Commission published its Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 setting out actions to close the gender pay gap. In November 2020, the Commission adopted its 2021-2025 Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in External Action.

The Commission’s proposal on pay transparency, adopted on 4 March 2021, introduces to measures to ensure that women and men in the EU get equal pay for equal work.

In June 2022, the European Parliament and the Council approved the Commission’s proposal to improve the gender balance on corporate boards. It will soon become EU law.

The Commission’s proposal on adequate minimum wages for workers, adopted on 28 October 2020, supports gender equality by helping to close the gender pay gap and to lift women out of poverty, as more women than men earn minimum wages in Europe.

The Commission also addresses women’s underrepresentation in the labour market by improving the work-life balance of working parents and carers. The new Directive on work-life balance entered into force on 2 August 2022.

In September 2022, the Commission presented the European Care Strategy to ensure quality, affordable and accessible care services across the European Union. The Strategy is accompanied by two Recommendations for Member States on the revision of the Barcelona targets on early childhood education and care, and on access to affordable high-quality long-term care.

The press release issued by the European Commission on 14 November 2022.

Today, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, on a proposal from the European Commission, have reached an agreement on the EU budget for 2023. The agreement is for commitments of €186.6 billion, and payments of €168.7 billion. Once adopted, the budget would allow the EU to mobilise significant funds to help mitigate the severe consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine in the country but also in the southern neighbourhood and Member States. It would also support the ongoing sustainable recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, and protect and create jobs. It would trigger further investments into a greener, more digital and more resilient Europe, while protecting the most vulnerable in its neighbourhood and around the world.

The budget agreed today will direct funds to where they can make the greatest difference, in line with the most crucial needs of the EU Member States and the EU’s partners around the world.

More concretely, it has been agreed to direct:

• 14.7 billion to support our neighbours and international development and cooperation. The agreement includes targeted increases for the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI) – Global Europe (€12.3 billion), focusing on Ukraine and Moldova, migration in the southern neighbourhood as well as for the Humanitarian Aid programme (€1.8 billion) to address crisis situations across the globe;
• €1.5 billion for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and €956.8 million for the Integrated Border Management Fund to step up cooperation on external border management, as well as migration and asylum policy, including support to Member States receiving refugees from Ukraine;
• €3.0 billion for the Connecting Europe Facility for an up-to-date, high-performance transport infrastructure to facilitate cross-border connections, [with particular emphasis on strengthening the EU-Ukraine solidarity lanes, and the energy strand in response to the energy crisis, complementing the €20 billion euro REPowerEU proposal];
• €295.2 million for Military Mobility to improve civilian and military mobility;
• €3.7 billion for Erasmus+ to invest in young people, including pupils and students fleeing Ukraine, as well as €332.8 million for the cultural and creative sectors through the Creative Europe programme;
• €62.9 billion in commitments to support the ongoing recovery by boosting investments in economic, social and territorial cohesion;
• €53.6 billion for the Common Agricultural Policy and €1.1 billion for the European Maritime, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Fund, for Europe’s farmers and fishermen, but also to strengthen the resilience of the agri-food and fisheries sectors and to provide the necessary scope for crisis management;
• €12.4 billion for Horizon Europe, to support the EU’s research in areas like health, digital, industry, space, climate, energy, and mobility;
• €602.8 million for the Single Market Programme to support small- and medium-sized enterprises across the Union;
• €739.3 million for the EU4Health programme to support the EU Health Union and to deliver a comprehensive response to the health needs of European citizens;
• €1.5 billion under the Just Transition Fund to make sure the transition to climate neutrality works for all and €755.5 million under the LIFE programme to support environment and climate action;
• €309.9 million for the Internal Security Fund, €945.7 million for the European Defence Fund to support European strategic autonomy and security, and €157.0 million for European Defence Industry Reinforcement through Common Procurement Act.

The full breakdown per heading is available here:

Source: European Commission: Figures expressed in €million, in current prices

Together with the budget for 2023, the EU institutions agreed to endorse the proposed amendments to the 2022 budget as tabled by the Commission earlier this year. Once the approval process is finalised, the Commission will be able to continue supporting and assisting Ukraine, help Member States more affected from the inflow of migrants and Ukraine refugees, strengthen the Union’s preparedness for forest fires, respond to the currents outbreaks of avian influenza and swine fever, and address further challenges stemming from the overall macroeconomic context.

In parallel to the annual budget for 2023, EU countries will continue to rely on support from the NextGenerationEU recovery instrument and the Recovery and Resilience Facility at its heart.

On top of the budget reinforcement the Commission proposed on 9 November an unprecedented support package for Ukraine of up to €18 billion for 2023. This will come in the form of highly concessional loans, disbursed in regular instalments as of 2023.

What happens next?

The annual budget for 2023 will now be formally adopted by the Council of the European Union and by the European Parliament. The vote in plenary, which will mark the end of the process, is currently scheduled for 23 November 2022.