Opening remarks at the joint press conference with President Michel following the meeting of the European Council of 17 October 2024

I want to focus on the three main topics that we discussed today, that is the visit of President Zelenskyy, the Middle East and then the topic of migration.

The presence of President Zelenskyy today, when he presented his victory plan, was indeed a testament to the resilience of the Ukrainian people in the face of this brutal war. A war that will soon reach its 1000th day. During this time, the European Union has stood by Ukraine, steadfast, determined. One thing was very clear from today's discussion as well: Our support to Ukraine is unwavering and it will last for as long as it takes. This support includes of course the delivery of military equipment. But also now the energy support to keep the lights on and the houses warm during the winter. You know that Russia has destroyed about 75% of the energy infrastructure in Ukraine. But, together with our Member States, we are repairing; we are providing, through reverse flow, energy to Ukraine; and we are doing everything possible to decentralise the energy supply because it is much harder for Russia to attack, for example, solar panels, and it is much easier for Ukraine to defend decentralised energy production. But our support to Ukraine also includes the economic stability of the country. As you know, Europe is working on a loan of up to EUR 35 billion, as part of the G7 pledge. This loan to Ukraine will be served by the proceeds of the immobilised Russian assets. So the message here is also very clear: Russia has to pay for the damages it caused. We also were discussing our overall goal: We want to support a just and lasting peace for Ukraine, one that upholds its sovereignty and territorial integrity. In parallel, we are also preparing for what will come after peace is achieved. Of course, we will help Ukraine to reconstruct. And we are accompanying Ukraine on its path to the European Union accession. Let me focus one moment on this point. We had the first intergovernmental conference in June, so Ukraine took a huge step forward. The bilateral screening process is now ongoing. In parallel, we have the Ukraine Plan that includes crucial reforms for this accession path. And it is supported by the EUR 50 billion in the Ukraine Plan that are delivered following the achievement on reforms. So it is a EUR 50 billion investment over four years, from 2024 to 2027, and we see a lot of progress. Thanks to Ukraine's progress, we have already disbursed over EUR 12 billion. We expect another tranche to be disbursed before the end of the year. So there is good progress.

We also discussed the situation in the Middle East. We are extremely concerned about the very dangerous situation in the region. We see the escalation in Lebanon. We saw Iran's ballistic strike on Israel. All this heightens the real risks of a wider regional war. We continued around the table to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and in Lebanon, for the unconditional release of all hostages and for an end to the conflict. Likewise, there are urgent humanitarian needs in Lebanon to meet. Beginning of October, I announced an additional EUR 30 million. This comes on top of the 1 billion from the European Union in support for Lebanon that I announced in May of this year. Around the table, we also discussed conditions for a durable peace, leading to a two-state solution. Let me stress in particular one very important point: This lasting peace and the two-state solution can only be achieved with a stable, strong and reformed Palestinian Authority. As you know, the European Commission is working towards this goal. We already have a EUR 400 million emergency support package that has been in place since July. It supports for the moment for example the payment of salaries or pensions or the provision of basic services in the West Bank. But for us it is important that we do not only disburse the outstanding amount of EUR 110 million later this year but that we have a mid- and long-term support plan for the Palestinian Authority in place. This should keep the Palestinian Authority afloat until the end of the year. This is the first step in the right direction. We are also working round-the-clock with the Palestinian Authority on the second step. This is a more comprehensive multi-year programme, to support the Palestinian Authority and their own fiscal, economic and governance reforms so that the budget is stabilised until 2026. For all that we need a collective effort, politically and financially, from the international donor community. This starts with the Arab countries in the region. And of course, we also need Israel on board. Whatever the current difficulties, our responsibility is to continue the work for a better future.

Let me now turn to migration. As you know, we always discuss migration with two legs: one is the internal dimension, the other one is the external dimension. The Pact on Migration and Asylum is now EU law, and we are very much focused on its implementation. At the same time, we see migratory pressures that continue to evolve. So, we need to continue the work that we are doing. And I proposed in my letter to the Leaders to do this along different action points. First, indeed, there is the internal dimension: We are ready if necessary to accelerate the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum. This Pact has been constructed in a very balanced manner, responsibility and solidarity, so if we accelerate, we have to make absolutely clear that this balance is kept. But today the focus was more on the external dimension. First of all, on the comprehensive partnerships with countries that are neighbouring the European Union, third countries, we see that these partnerships are working. If you look at the Central Mediterranean Route, which we have been working on intensively, overall the arrivals are now down by minus 64% in the Central Mediterranean. We have also been working intensively on the whole topic of visa alignment, here specifically with the Western Balkans. And this is successful too, the irregular arrivals from the Western Balkans are down 77%. We have also taken the alignment with the visa policy of the European Union into the Reform Agendas of the Western Balkans to make sure that we are fully aligned. One of the main discussion points was a common approach on returns. Today, we see that from all those that have no right to stay in the European Union, only 20% of those who have a return decision are really returned to their countries of origin. We are working to improve this operational work, and we will soon present a new legislative proposal for that. We have one from 2018, but it is stuck in Parliament and Council, so we will come with a new proposal for returns. In this context, we also discussed innovative ways to counter illegal migration.

There are different options that have been discussed. First, the need to review the concept of a safe third country. What is a safe third country? How is it defined? Second, the idea of developing return hubs outside of the European Union. It has been discussed. And also, very much in focus: the work with UNHCR and IOM on what they call a whole-of-route approach. For instance, migrants that are stranded, for example in North Africa, we discussed support to UNHCR and IOM to return those migrants to their countries of origin, of course with financial support from the European Union. We also need to continue – and we have discussed that lot – tackling people smuggling and human trafficking. Here the legislation is 20 years old, so we have now a new proposal on the table, and I hope we can advance swiftly on that one. This is all the topic of irregular migration triggered by smugglers and traffickers. A completely different situation is the pressure that Poland is experiencing at the eastern land borders. And before Poland it was Finland, it was the Baltic States. What we see is that Putin and Lukashenka are exerting pressure on us, trying to undermine our security and our territorial integrity. These are hybrid attacks by state actors. And therefore, Poland and other Member States need to be able to protect our Union from those hybrid attacks. The same goes for Finland and the Baltic States, they have to be able to take measures that are temporary and appropriate. We are working on that with Poland right now, we have been working on these measures with Finland and with the Baltic States. We have also discussed this today. Overall, it was a very constructive and comprehensive discussion that we had.

Thank you.