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The European Parliament held an extraordinary plenary session in Brussels to assess Russia’s military assault on Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Speaker of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament) Ruslan Stefanchuk spoke live from Kiev. European Council and Commission Presidents Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen, as well as the EU’s Foreign Policy chief Josep Borrell, also participated in the debate.
At an extraordinary meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 27 February, home affairs ministers took stock of the response to provide to the consequences of the Russian military attack against Ukraine.
The European Council condemned in the strongest possible terms Russia's unprecedented military aggression against Ukraine and expressed full unity with international partners and full solidarity with Ukraine and its people. The EU has reacted swiftly and decisively to Russia’s recognition of Ukraine’s self-proclaimed separatist entities and deployment of its armed forces by adopting restrictive measures in response, including a package of sanctions adopted on 23 February.
The European Commission has adopted a proposal for a Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence. The proposal aims to foster sustainable and responsible corporate behaviour throughout global value chains.
The Commission proposes new rules on who can use and access data generated in the EU across all economic sectors. The Data Act will ensure fairness in the digital environment, stimulate a competitive data market, open opportunities for data-driven innovation and make data more accessible for all.
The Foreign Affairs Council held a discussion on the European security situation. The Council decided on a series of measures to support Ukraine's resilience. It adopted the decision to provide €1,2 billion in macro financial assistance, and decided to provide support to Ukraine’s professional military education under the European Peace Facility. The EU will also increase its support against cyber-attacks and countering disinformation by sending a mission of experts to the country.
At the sixth European Union - African Union summit, the leaders of the EU and AU committed to a joint vision for a renewed partnership for solidarity, security, peace and sustainable and sustained economic development and prosperity.
On Wednesday morning, MEPs took stock of the latest developments related to Russia’s military threats against Ukraine in a plenary debate with European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell.
The Commission puts forward a number of Commission-led initiatives in areas critical for defence and security within the European Union. These comprise a Contribution to European defence, covering the full range of challenges, from the conventional defence industry and equipment on land, sea and air, to cyber, hybrid and space threats, military mobility and the relevance of climate change; and a roadmap on critical technologies for security and defence.
The EU is acting on its space ambitions by tabling two initiatives - a proposal for a Regulation on a space-based secure connectivity and a Joint Communication on an EU approach on Space Traffic Management (STM). Today's initiatives will help safeguard the efficiency and security of our current assets while developing European cutting-edge space technology to the benefit of our citizens and economy.
The Winter 2022 Economic Forecast projects that, following a notable expansion by 5.3% in 2021, the EU economy will grow by 4.0% in 2022 and 2.8% in 2023. Growth in the euro area is also expected at 4.0% in 2022, moderating to 2.7% in 2023. The EU as a whole reached its pre-pandemic level of GDP in the third quarter of 2021 and all Member States are projected to have passed this milestone by the end of 2022.
