Indicative programme

+/- 16.30
Beginning of the EU-Kazakhstan Cooperation Council

– the state of play and next steps concerning the EU-Kazakhstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement
– political, economic and trade matters, including internal reforms, regional trade, the rule of law and human rights
– regional and international developments and cooperation, including security 

At the end of the meeting (+/- 19.50) press conference in live streaming.

Arrangements for the press conference

Please note that there will be no physical press conference. EU accredited journalists will be able to ask questions remotely using this link.

Journalists who already registered for previous Foreign Affairs Council press conferences do not need to register again.

Deadline: Monday, 10 May 2021, 18.30

Further instructions will be sent to all registered participants approximately half an hour after the deadline.

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The Council today approved conclusions affirming its determination to move forward on implementing the EU’s security and defence agenda, enabling the EU to take more responsibility for its own security.

In line with its Strategic Agenda 2019-2024, the Council calls for the EU to pursue a more strategic course of action and to increase its capacity to act autonomously. The EU should promote its interests and values and be able to tackle global security threats and challenges.

Against this background, an ambitious and actionable Strategic Compass will enhance and guide the implementation of the level of ambition on security and defence. The Council therefore calls on the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to present a first draft of the Strategic Compass for discussion at the Council meeting in November 2021.

The Council calls for further work to enhance the EU’s capacity to undertake CSDP missions and operations across the whole spectrum of different crisis management tasks. The Council also encourages further reflection on a timely and efficient decision-making process, possibly using Article 44 of the TEU. More work should be done on ways to incentivise member states to improve force generation and provide sufficient means and personnel for CSDP missions and operations.

The conclusions underline the importance of strengthening EU defence initiatives, like Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO), the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP), and other initiatives such as the Action Plan on synergies between civil, defence and space industries, while ensuring coherence in the use of the various tools.

The need to further strengthen the EU’s resilience and ability to counter hybrid threats is also strongly emphasised.

A strong EU in terms of security and defence will bring tangible benefits to transatlantic and global cooperation. The Council reaffirms the centrality of international partnerships with multilateral organisations such as the UN and NATO, in line with the statement of the members of the European Council of 26 February 2021.

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The EU has upgraded its legislation on the export controls applicable to sensitive dual-use goods and technologies such as cyber-surveillance tools.

Today the Council adopted a regulation modernising the EU system for the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items. These are goods, software and technology that can be used for both civilian and military applications.

We welcome the new EU rules on exports of dual-use items that give human rights the prominence they deserve. Strong controls will allow us to prevent human rights violations and abuses, while keeping up with the latest technological developments.

João Leão, Portuguese Minister of Finance and President of the Council

The new regulation strengthens controls on a wider range of emerging dual-use technologies, and the coordination between member states and the Commission in support of the effective enforcement of controls throughout the EU. By introducing due diligence obligations for producers, the new rules also give companies an important role in addressing the risks to international security sometimes posed by dual-use items.

Finally, the dual-use regulation paves the way for better coordination between the EU and partner countries in enhancing international security through more convergent approaches to export controls at global level.

Next steps

After the European Parliament and the Council sign the adopted regulation, it will be published in the EU Official Journal and enter into force 90 days later.

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​First Vice-President Vasco Cordeiro and SEDEC Commission chair Anne Karjalainen represented the European Committee of the Regions at the EU Social Summit in Porto on 7-8 May. They welcomed the commitment of the EU Heads of State and Government to strengthen the pledge to work towards a Social Europe, to reinforce social cohesion and to reach the new EU headline targets on jobs, skills and poverty reduction. However, they regretted that the final Summit Declaration lacks reference to the role of regional and local governments.

First Vice-President Vasco Alves Cordeiro, Member of the Regional Parliament of Azores, said: “The implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights can only succeed if all levels of governance, from European to local, are involved. It is very positive that the need to reinforce territorial and social cohesion, with the involvement of the European, national, regional and local levels of government, has been included in the Social Summit stakeholders’ declaration. However, it is disappointing that the European Council did not recognise our role in the final Summit Declaration. Building a social Europe can only happen with and thanks to local and regional authorities and this worrying trend needs to change, also in view of the Conference on the Future of Europe.”

SEDEC Commission Chair Anne Karjalainen (FI/PES), Member of Kerava City Council and rapporteur of the opinion requested by the Portuguese EU Council Presidency on the local and regional dimension of the European Pillar of Social Rights, said: “We welcome that the EU leaders have agreed on common goals with the aim of putting people’s well-being and equality at the heart of policy and making social issues an enduring priority in the European Union. However, success will depend on the commitment of all levels of government, from European to local, to building a strong and resilient social Europe, which will guarantee that the green and digital transitions are fair and which will facilitate recovery from the COVID-19 crisis both economically and socially.”

More information:

Mr Cordeiro and Ms Karjalainen participated in the high-level conference of the Summit organised on Friday with EU leaders and a wide range of stakeholders. At the end of the conference, a joint declaration was signed.

Portugal’s Prime Minister António Costa addressed the CoR plenary session last week, underlining the role of cities and regions as key partners for the success of Europe’s fair, green and digital recovery.

EU leaders met in Porto on 8 May to agree on specific quantitative targets and timelines to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights, which was proclaimed in 2017 in Gothenburg. As specified in the Action Plan presented by the European Commission in March, the new headline targets imply that by 2030 at least 78% of EU population aged 20 to 64 should be in employment, at least 60% of all adults should participate in training every year and the number of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion should be reduced by at least 15 million. 

Contact:

Lauri Ouvinen

Tel. +32 473536887

lauri.ouvinen@cor.europa.eu