Daily News 03 / 02 / 2020

Brussels, 3 February 2020

Future EU-UK partnership: European Commission takes first step to launch negotiations with the United Kingdom Today, the European Commission has issued a recommendation to the Council to open negotiations on a new partnership with the United Kingdom. This recommendation is based on the existing European Council guidelines and conclusions, as well as on the Political Declaration agreed between the EU and the United Kingdom in October 2019. It includes a comprehensive proposal for negotiating directives, defining the scope and terms of the future partnership that the European Union envisages with the United Kingdom. These directives cover all areas of interest for the negotiations, including trade and economic cooperation, law enforcement and judicial cooperation in criminal matters, foreign policy, security and defence, participation in Union programmes and other thematic areas of cooperation. A dedicated chapter on governance provides an outline for an overall governance framework covering all areas of economic and security cooperation. The Council will have to adopt the draft negotiating directives. This will formally authorise the Commission to open the negotiations as Union negotiator. A press release is available online. (For more information: Eric Mamer – Tel.: +32 2 299 4073; Dana Spinant – Tel.: +32 2 299 0150; Daniel Ferrie – Tel.: +32 2 29 86500)

Coronavirus: l'UE soutient le rapatriement de plus de 440 citoyens et fournit de l'aide à la Chine La Commission européenne œuvre sur tous les fronts pour soutenir les efforts visant à lutter contre le coronavirus, en aidant les États membres à rapatrier leurs citoyens et en fournissant des prestations d'urgence aux autorités chinoises. Les premiers rapatriements par avion de la France et de l'Allemagne, cofinancés par le mécanisme de protection civile de l'UE, ont concerné 447 citoyens européens au départ de Wuhan le week-end passé. En outre, l'UE a contribué à faciliter la livraison de 12 tonnes d'équipements de protection individuelle à la Chine en tant que première aide d'urgence. Janez Lenarčič, commissaire chargé de la gestion des crises, a déclaré: « Je tiens à remercier la France et l'Allemagne d'avoir aidé à ramener des centaines de citoyens des pays membres de l'UE chez eux, en toute sécurité. Il s'agit d'un succès de nos efforts européens communs de protection civile. Nous travaillons également 24h / 24, 7j / 7 pour aider les autorités chinoises à fournir des équipements de protection. Les premiers approvisionnements sont déjà arrivés en Chine ce week-end. Une aide supplémentaire de l'UE est en route. » Le Centre de coordination des interventions d'urgence de l'UE coordonne l'aide de l'UE. L'UE a également fourni 10 millions d'euros pour la recherche sur les vaccins. (Pour plus d'informations : Balazs Ujvari - Tél.: +32 229 54578; Daniel Puglisi – Tél.: +32 229 69140)

New rules on short-stay visas to the EU: modernised procedure, updated fees, link to readmission cooperation New EU rules on short-stay visas apply worldwide since 2 February. They make it easier for the millions of legitimate travellers who visit the EU every year to apply for a visa, facilitating tourism and business, while providing more resources for countering irregular migration risks and threats to internal security. The applications procedure becomes more user-friendly: travellers may, for example, submit visa applications up to 6 months ahead of a planned trip, instead of 3 months previously. Multiple-entry, long-validity visas are easier to obtain for frequent travellers, saving them time and money. The visa fee is €80, an increase from €60 to help maintain sufficient resources to process applications and detect potential security and irregular migration risks. The increase is the first one since 2006. In addition, the EU can now adapt the rules on processing visa applications (for instance as regards processing time, the level of the visa fee or the issuing of multiple-entry visas) depending on whether a non-EU country cooperates satisfactorily on the return and readmission of their nationals staying irregularly in the EU. The EU visa rules cover short-stay visas for the Schengen area, which includes 22 Member States and four associated countries. Currently, citizens from 105 non-EU countries and entities are required to hold a visa when travelling to the Schengen area for short-stay visits (full list here). A Q&A and a factsheet have more information on the new rules. For more information: Adalbert Jahnz - Tel.: + 32 229 53156; Ciara Bottomley - Tel.: +32 229 69971; Laura Bérard - Tel.: +32 229 55721)

Pesticides : la Commission interdit à la Lituanie et à la Roumanie d'accorder des autorisations d'urgence injustifiées pour des substances nuisibles aux abeilles Aujourd'hui, la Commission européenne a adopté deux décisions qui interdisent à la Roumanie et à la Lituanie d'accorder des autorisations d'urgence injustifiées pour trois néonicotinoïdes (imidaclopride, clothianidine et thiaméthoxame). Depuis qu'il a été prouvé que l'utilisation de ces substances est nuisible aux abeilles, leur utilisation a déjà été limitée au niveau de l'UE. La Roumanie et la Lituanie ont accordé à plusieurs reprises des autorisations d'urgence pour permettre l'utilisation de ces substances afin de lutter contre certains parasites sur des cultures spécifiques – autorisations que l'Autorité européenne de sécurité des aliments (EFSA) ne considère pas comme justifiées. La commissaire en charge de la santé et de la sécurité alimentaire, Stella Kyriakides a déclaré : « C'est la première fois que la Commission adopte de telles décisions. L'octroi d'autorisations d'urgence pour les pesticides n'est possible que si des conditions strictes sont respectées. Le Pacte vert pour l'Europe souligne que la durabilité de la chaîne alimentaire est une priorité pour l'UE et nous ne pouvons pas accepter que les États membres continuent à utiliser des pesticides qui nuisent à l'environnement et à la biodiversité alors que des alternatives sont disponibles. » La Commission créé également aujourd'hui une base de données qui mettra à la disposition toutes les autorisations d'urgence accordées par les États membres. Pour plus d'informations, cliquez ici. (Pour plus d'informations : Stefan de Keersmaecker - Tél.: +32 229 84680; Darragh Cassidy – Tél.: +32 229 83978)

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Europe's Beating Cancer Plan: The Commission launches EU-wide consultation Tomorrow, 4 February – World Cancer Day – the European Commission will launch an EU-wide public consultation on Europe's Beating Cancer Plan, at an event which will be opened by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and convened by Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, in the European Parliament. The event ‘ Europe's Beating Cancer Plan: Let's strive for more' will bring together a range of stakeholders, from political leaders to health professionals and NGOs, to collect a broad range of views on the outline of Europe's Beating Cancer Plan and help to identify the areas and the scope of future action. While the EU has a long history of fighting cancer, there are still many challenges ahead. Every year, 1.3 million people die from cancer and 3.5 million new cases are diagnosed in the European Union. Ahead of the event, Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said: “Tomorrow we will start our consultation on Europe's Beating Cancer Plan. The success of this plan will depend on the engagement of a wide range of actors. I hope that everyone will participate fully in this process and share their invaluable expertise, experience and insight. We need everyone to contribute and ensure that our Plan is ambitious and far-reaching and has a concrete impact on the lives of our citizens.” Additional speakers include Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President for Promoting Our European Way of Life, European Parliament First Vice-President Mairead McGuiness, andco-chairs of the MEPs Against Cancer Interest Group, Véronique Trillet-Lenoir and Loucas Fourlas. More details on the event can be found here. The launch event will be broadcast live on EbS. A press point with Vice- President Schinas and Commissioner Kyriakides will follow the event at +/- 16h30. (For more information: Stefan de Keersmaecker - Tel.: +32 229 84680; Darragh Cassidy – Tel.: +32 229 83978)

Vice-President Schinas and Commissioner Johansson in Warsaw Today, Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, and Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, are both in Warsaw. As part of the programme of bilateral engagement with Member States to prepare the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, they will meet Mariusz Kamiński, Minister of Interior and Administration, and Commissioner Johansson will hold a meeting with civil society organisations. They will both visit the headquarters of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) to meet Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri and deliver an address to the Agency's staff. Vice-President Schinas will also visit the College of Europe in Natolin where he will engage with students. In the evening, he will attend the reception hosted by President Emmanuel Macron for the French community. (For more information: Adalbert Jahnz - Tel.: + 32 229 53156; Ciara Bottomley - Tel.: +32 229 69971; Laura Bérard - Tel.: +32 229 55721)

Commissioner Hahn in Denmark to discuss long-term EU budget negotiations Today and tomorrow, 3 and 4 February, Commissioner Hahn, in charge of Budget and Administration, is in Denmark to continue his ‘tour des capitales'. He will meet with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, acting Minister of Finance, Morten Bødskov, as well as the EU Affairs Committee of the Danish Parliament, to discuss the next long-term EU budget. (For more information: Balazs Ujvari – Tel.: +32 460 760296, Claire Joawn – Tel.:+32 460 756859)

Eurostat: communiqués de presse Prochains événements de la Commission européenne (ex-Top News) MEX/20/180