European Council meeting – October 21-22, 2021
Energy, COVID-19, Rule of Law, Trade, Climate, Migration and the Digital Transformation discussed
EU
Heads of State or Government met in Brussels to discuss the current hike in energy prices which is challenging the
post-pandemic recovery and severely affecting citizens and businesses.
Leaders also discussed the current
COVID-19 situation, especially regarding vaccine hesitancy and disinformation. International
solidarity, to ensure the speedy delivery of vaccines to countries most in need,
and action to ensure better preparedness for pandemics in the future, were also
on the agenda.
Other topics discussed by the
European Council members were the Rule of Law and trade as the most effective
instrument for the EU’s global influence,
The
European Council reiterated the commitment by the EU and its Member States to
continue scaling up their climate financing and called on other developed
countries to urgently increase their contribution, ahead of the Glasgow Climate Summit COP 26and COP 15 on biodiversity.
Migration was also on the agenda in
terms of the implementation of the June
European Council conclusions on the external dimension of
migration, in particular when it comes to financing, and the effective control
of external borders.
Finally, EU leaders discussed Europe's
digital transformation, through providing additional guidance on the digital
agenda, including cyber security and connectivity, and gave a political push to
work on existing and future proposals and initiatives.
Click here for the European Council Conclusions – 21–22/10/2021.