The EU in 2022

Introduction

In 2022, just as the global economy was beginning to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic, the world faced a new geopolitical crisis. On 24 February 2022, almost 8 years after the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, Russia launched a war of aggression against Ukraine, unleashing devastation on its people, with the tragic toll in human lives and destruction continuing to mount. As well as creating an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, Russia’s actions also triggered the worst energy crisis in Europe since the 1970s. This also led to a hike in food prices across the world, further exacerbating global food insecurity.

The European Union’s response was united, determined and immediate. The 27 Member States and their partners around the world condemned the unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression, acting swiftly and forcefully to isolate Russia economically and thwart its ability to fund the war through hard-hitting sanctions.

Demonstrating its unwavering support for Ukraine, the EU stepped up its provision of political, humanitarian and financial support to the country. It also took the exceptional measure of activating, for the first time ever, the Temporary Protection Directive to provide immediate protection to the millions of Ukrainians who were forced to flee their homes.

At the same time, the EU mobilised all of its means to support Member States in their response to the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the massive inflow of refugees to neighbouring countries.

Russia’s war of aggression also triggered changes in the European security architecture. In March, the EU adopted the Strategic Compass to strengthen the EU’s posture in security and defence by 2030 (see Chapter 8).

In addition, the European Commission set out a groundbreaking plan, REPowerEU, to help end the EU’s dependency on Russian fossil fuels (see Chapter 2).

Following the historic decision of the European Council in June 2022, the EU granted the status of candidate country to Ukraine (see Chapter 8).

Solidarity with Ukraine

An immediate and united response

The EU reacted swiftly to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. With true solidarity between the EU and its Member States, the EU adopted in 2022 more than 200 measures in response to the invasion. Its response followed three tracks: to isolate Russia and hold it to account for the war of aggression, invasion and international humanitarian law violations, including war crimes; an unprecedented set of sanctions designed to impose severe consequences on Russia’s economy and thwart its ability to continue its war of aggression; and wide-ranging support for Ukraine. The EU also stopped engaging with Russian authorities, while continuing to provide support to civil society, human rights defenders and independent media.

EU Sanctions

Since March 2014, the EU has been progressively imposing sanctions against Russia, initially in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol and the deliberate destabilisation of Ukraine.

The EU also cut Russia’s access to the EU’s capital markets, for example by imposing asset freezes and financing bans on a number of Russian banks, excluding certain banks from the SWIFT network, and limiting access to crucial financial market infrastructure. A ban imposed on transactions with the Central Bank of Russia means that it can no longer access the assets it has stored in central banks and private institutions in the EU.

The EU also banned state-owned Russian media from broadcasting in the EU, to counter the spread of misinformation and disinformation. In addition, the EU closed its airspace and EU ports to Russian aircraft and vessels, respectively, and imposed a ban on Russian road transport operators. Other measures included a ban on the seaborne import of crude oil from Russia, a global price cap on oil agreed with G7 partners and an import ban on all forms of Russian coal.

The sanctions imposed by the EU and countries across the world have started to weaken Russia’s economic base, depriving Russia of critical technologies and markets and curtailing its ability to wage war. Russia’s future economic growth is expected to be significantly slower than in other emerging markets, developing economies and advanced economies.

In November, the Council of the European Union agreed to extend the list of ‘EU crimes’ laid down under Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to include the violation of EU sanctions. Following the decision, the Commission proposed a directive on the definition of criminal offences and penalties for the violation of EU sanctions.

Fighting disinformation

In 2022, the EU continued its work on developing tools to impose political, economic and reputational costs on the perpetrators of harmful information manipulation and interference, including those who target elections and open media environments.

The EU works closely with online platforms and other relevant stakeholders to combat the spread of disinformation. Since 2018, the Code of Practice on Disinformation has served as a tool for relevant industry players to agree on self-regulatory standards to fight disinformation. In June 2022, 34 signatories (major online platforms, emerging and specialised ones, stakeholders in the advertising industry, fact checkers, and research and civil-society organisations) signed a strengthened version of the code. The revised code aims to cut financial incentives for those that spread disinformation, ensure political advertising transparency and empower the fact-checking community.

Dealing with the humanitarian crisis

Since the start of Russia’s war of aggression, the humanitarian needs in Ukraine have risen to unprecedented levels. By the end of 2022, more than 13 million people in the country had received humanitarian assistance. Out of the total amount of financial assistance provided to Ukraine, humanitarian support included €485 million allocated for humanitarian aid programmes supporting civilians affected by the armed conflict in Ukraine and €38 million for Moldova, which was also hit hard by the war. EU humanitarian funding provided vital support, including access to basic goods and services, such as education, healthcare and food. A further €200 million was provided to support displaced people in Ukraine.

The EU’s first priority was to protect Ukrainian civilians. Working with Ukrainian civil protection authorities, the Commission began the biggest and most complex operation under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism in its history to ensure the delivery of the most urgent non-monetary assistance to Ukraine and neighbouring countries, and the safe evacuation of those fleeing the armed conflict. By the end of the year, the value of the almost 78 000 tonnes of assistance provided by the EU Member States and non-EU countries contributing to the mechanism, combined with assistance coming from rescEU reserves, amounted to around half a billion euro.

The Commission, along with Member States and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, set up triage hubs at the Ukrainian border and in the most affected Member States to speed up relocation and medical transfers. European transport operators stepped in at the beginning of the war to offer refugees from Ukraine free transport to European countries.

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism coordinated medical evacuations of Ukrainian civilians and military patients in need of continued treatment or urgent medical assistance to countries in the EU and Norway. The Commission set up logistical hubs to channel European assistance and support humanitarian partners on the ground. Among these were medical hubs set up in Jasionka (Poland), Iaşi (Romania) and Košice (Slovakia) to ensure the safe evacuation of patients and prepare for the reception of a large influx of patients in countries bordering the EU. The evacuation operations were supported by the new rescEU medical evacuation plane, financed by the EU and hosted by Norway. By the end of the year, more than 1 670 patients had been transferred to hospitals in 19 European countries.

In an exemplary demonstration of European solidarity with Ukraine and its people, all 27 Member States, along with North Macedonia, Norway and Türkiye, offered help to Ukraine under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism throughout the year. An additional stockpile of urgently needed items, such as medical equipment and temporary shelters, was established to centralise items donated by private companies.

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine also put pressure on Member States’ health systems, which provided healthcare to those displaced to the EU. Under an agreement with the EU, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies was able to provide mental health and emotional support to people displaced in Ukraine, and in the EU and countries in the European Economic Area.

The European Medicines Agency and the Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority closely monitored supplies of important medicines and medical equipment, including paediatric vaccines and vaccines for other infectious diseases, to prevent possible supply chain issues. Additional support, in the form of wastewater surveillance for different pathogens, was also given to Member States hosting refugees. The Commission coordinated these actions with international partners such as the World Health Organization.

Russia’s persistent and deliberate targeting of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure seriously affected the country’s energy system. The EU, together with its Member States and private companies, delivered several million euro worth of emergency energy equipment to Ukraine. In addition, €32 million was collected to cover the most urgent needs via the Ukraine Energy Support Fund established by the Energy Community at the request of the Commission. In December, President von der Leyen announced that the EU would mobilise around €30 million to purchase up to 30 million energy-saving light bulbs for Ukraine.

The EU also delivered more than €40 million of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threat countermeasures and equipment from rescEU reserves and allocated €13 million for the restoration of laboratories damaged by Russian occupiers at Chernobyl.

Welcoming those fleeing the armed conflict

In a historical first and with unprecedented speed, on 4 March the EU activated the Temporary Protection Directive to offer quick and effective help. Along with offering protection to those fleeing Russia’s war of aggression, including giving them a clear legal status and a residence permit in an EU Member State, the EU also provided access to schooling, social welfare, jobs, medical care and housing.

The Commission set up the EU Solidarity platform as a central hub to monitor needs and coordinate the operational response. The platform, which is also available in Russian and Ukrainian, enabled EU Member States to exchange essential information relating to the ensuing arrival of millions of displaced people in European countries. In March, the Commission presented a 10-point plan to strengthen European coordination on welcoming refugees.

The Commission also launched a communication campaign to inform refugees about their rights and about trustworthy sources of information when travelling to the EU. By the end of 2022, around 4.5 million people had officially been registered for temporary protection in EU Member States.

Education in times of conflict

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has taken a severe toll on its education system, affecting students, teachers and administration, and education facilities, thousands of which sustained damage. With support from the European Union, UNICEF provided education supplies and organised training for teachers on life-skills education and emotional support.

According to EU estimates, around one third of the refugees from Ukraine were school-age children. These children received the same rights and protection as children who are EU citizens. Around half a million Ukrainian children were integrated into school systems in 20 Member States at the start of the new school year in September.

The Commission supported national education systems with a practical manual for the 2022/2023 school year, guidelines on the fast-track recognition of Ukrainian academic qualifications, peer learning, online platforms and flexible funding arrangements under the Erasmus+ programme, which supports education, training, youth and sport in Europe.

In June, the Commission invited Member States to review their requests for aid for the 2022/2023 school year under the EU school scheme to cater for displaced Ukrainian children. The scheme supports the distribution of fruit, vegetables, milk and certain milk products to schoolchildren from nursery to secondary school. As a result, a total of €2.9 million was redistributed to these countries.

The Commission also launched MSCA4Ukraine, funded under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, with a €25 million budget to support researchers fleeing the war. This enabled them to continue their work at academic and non-academic organisations in EU Member States and Horizon Europe-associated countries, while maintaining their connections to research and innovation communities in Ukraine.

Supporting EU Member States

The EU also acted with speed and solidarity to support Member States as they welcomed and found accommodation for those fleeing Ukraine, making €3.5 billion immediately available from the pandemic crisis instrument Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe (REACT-EU). Member States and their regions were also able to redirect existing funding to provide basic material assistance, such as food and clothing, through the Cohesion’s Action for Refugees in Europe (CARE) initiative. To further extend this support, in June the Commission presented the Flexible Assistance to Territories (FAST–CARE) proposal to help Member States in their provision of support to refugees. In total, up to €17 billion is potentially available under CARE for 2014–2020 (including REACT-EU mentioned above) and up to €17 billion under FAST-CARE for 2021–2027.

The 2014–2020 and 2021–2027 home affairs funds were also available to support EU Member States in welcoming those fleeing Ukraine. Furthermore, an additional €400 million was made available to frontline Member States to help cover the costs of shelter, food and healthcare, and to support border management.

Nine Member States requested support through the EU’s Technical Support Instrument to implement the Temporary Protection Directive. This included helping people fleeing Ukraine find jobs in the EU and adapting school curricula to the needs of Ukrainian pupils.

After suspending cooperation programmes with Russia and its ally Belarus, the EU transferred €26.2 million, initially envisaged for projects with these two countries, to strengthen the cooperation of Member States with Moldova and Ukraine.

The EU also introduced changes to the legal framework of 15 cross-border and transnational cooperation programmes disrupted by the Russian war of aggression. These changes were made to ensure that projects supporting Member States and benefiting Moldovans and Ukrainians could continue to be implemented. This included projects to support refugees.

Helping farmers and fishers

Actions to support EU farmers most affected by the war included an exceptional aid package of €500 million. EU farmers received increased support through rural development funds, which allowed Member States to pay affected farmers and agri-food businesses a one-off lump sum. In addition, the temporary relaxation of crop rotation rules for 2022/2023, which aims to maximise the production of cereals, is expected to put an estimated 1.5 million hectares back into production.

Russia’s weaponisation of its energy exports worsened an already challenging situation for the fertiliser market, on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic. The peak in gas prices led to an increase of around 149 % in the cost of nitrogen fertilisers in September 2022, compared with the year before. In response to this, the Commission presented a wide range of initiatives to ensure the availability and affordability of fertilisers in the EU and globally.

Measures to support farmers included targeted financial help, such as specific support under the Temporary Crisis Framework for State-aid, support for alternative fertiliser solutions and the launch of a market observatory for fertilisers to enhance market transparency.

EU fishery and aquaculture operators were also severely affected due to the rising prices of energy and raw materials. To help the struggling sector, the EU activated the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund to support operators and introduce specific crisis measures. These initiatives complement those available under the State-aid Temporary Crisis Framework, which was adopted to help EU companies deal with high energy prices and other consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine (see Chapter 2 for more information).

Support in the investigation and prosecution of war crimes

The EU took a number of measures to make Russian decision-makers accountable for the gross violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in Ukraine.

In March, all EU Member States, together with other partner countries, decided to collectively refer the situation in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court. While continuing to support the work of the Court, the EU expressed readiness to work with the international community on setting up an ad hoc international tribunal or a ‘hybrid’ tribunal to investigate and prosecute Russia’s crimes of aggression.

By the end of 2022, Ukraine and 14 EU Member States had launched investigations into the international crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. Some of these Member States are already working directly with Ukraine and the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) through the Joint Investigation Team, set up to collect evidence and investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity. Eurojust’s mandate was strengthened in June 2022, giving it the ability to preserve, analyse and store evidence relating to international crimes.

The EU also amended the mandate of the EU Advisory Mission for Civilian Security Sector Reform in Ukraine to enable it to also provide support to the Ukrainian authorities in the investigation and prosecution of any international crimes committed in the context of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

The European Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) developed a dedicated taskforce to collect and analyse publicly available information in order to assist Ukraine and the International Criminal Court in monitoring online content.

In November 2022, the Commission presented different options to Member States to make sure that Russia pays for the atrocities committed during its unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. In the short term, the Commission proposed to create a new financial structure to manage frozen and immobilised public Russian assets, invest them and use the proceeds for Ukraine. In the longer term, once the sanctions are lifted, these funds could be used to ensure Russia’s full compensation for the damages caused to Ukraine.

Reconstruction of Ukraine

Russia’s war of aggression has already caused massive destruction to towns and communities in Ukraine, with the cost of reconstruction estimated by the World Bank to be up to €600 billion. A collective international effort will be required to support Ukraine as it rebuilds its country and its economy.

Regarding long-term reconstruction, on 25 October the Commission and the G7 presidency jointly organised an International Expert Conference on the Recovery, Reconstruction and Modernisation of Ukraine in Berlin (Germany). Building on the discussions held in Lugano (Switzerland), on 4 and 5 July at the Ukraine Recovery Conference, the Berlin conference provided additional expert advice on the recovery process. The outcome of the conference will contribute to the development of an international coordination platform, as proposed by the Commission in May. In December, G7 leaders agreed to establish such a multi-agency Donor Coordination platform, together with Ukraine and international partners and in close coordination with relevant international organisations and international financial institutions. The platform will be key to help match needs and resources for Ukraine’s repair, recovery and reconstruction efforts.

It will be co-chaired by the EU, Ukraine and the United States and will be assisted in its work by the technical Secretariat, with a Brussels (Belgium) office hosted by the Commission and a Kyiv (Ukraine) office hosted by the Government of Ukraine.

Introduction

The triple crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution is a pressing challenge that requires immediate action. The European Green Deal remains the EU’s roadmap to tackle these pressing challenges.

On top of this, two historic world events – the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine – have only served to strengthen the EU’s commitment to stay the course on the green transition and accelerate the pace of change.

The increasing intensity of extreme weather events in 2022 highlighted the need for further EU and international action to combat climate change, increase drought resilience and restore ecosystems. Other initiatives included stronger rules on pollutants, reducing the use of chemical pesticides, tackling packaging waste and building a more sustainable future.

Delivering on the European Green Deal

The EU’s long-term growth strategy is to ensure Europe’s climate neutrality by 2050. This target is enshrined in the European Climate Law, together with the legally binding commitment to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 % by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. The European Green Deal is the EU’s plan to make this happen. In 2022, the EU continued its bold action to achieve its climate goals.

A cornerstone of the EU’s policy to combat climate change and its key tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions cost-effectively is the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) – a marketplace for participants to trade capped emissions allowances between themselves for maximum efficiency. In 2022, the Commission’s proposal on the revision of the EU ETS was agreed by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. There was also political agreement on proposals concerning emissions and carbon removals from land use, land use change and forestry, the creation of a social climate fund and strengthened emissions standards for cars and vans.

Acting globally for the planet

In 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the leading international body for assessment of climate change, released three reports confirming that the world is warming rapidly due to human influence, and set out trajectories for adaptation and mitigation. The EU continued to engage with international partners on how to increase ambitions by reinforcing sectoral targets, achieving economy-wide goals and submitting net-zero strategies.

EU diplomacy secured support for a legally binding global agreement to combat plastic pollution at the UN Environment Assembly in March. The plan is to conclude negotiations by 2024. The future agreement will aim to strengthen existing initiatives and agreements, especially at the design and production phases of the plastics life cycle. It must bring together efforts from all stakeholders to achieve the overall goal of eliminating the leakage of plastic into the environment.

UN climate change and environmental conferences

In June 2022, at the conferences of the parties (COPs) to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm UN conventions – environmental agreements that share the common objective of protecting human health and the environment from hazardous chemicals and wastes – progress was made on the sound management of chemicals and waste. This included a milestone decision to control the global trade of electronic waste and prevent its uncontrolled dumping. The EU also proposed the development of global standards on the management of used tyres, a major source of microplastics. Renewed calls were made to eliminate the use of polychlorinated biphenyls, chemicals widely present in old electrical equipment and oils, by 2025.

Ahead of the annual UN Climate Change Conference, COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, the EU engaged in constructive negotiations to spur global climate action in line with the Paris Agreement temperature goal of maximum 1.5 °C global warming.

In Egypt, under the leadership of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans, the EU led the call at COP27 for all parties to take urgent action on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, but also on adapting to the inevitable consequences of climate change in the coming decades.

The conference adopted a Mitigation Work Programme to scale up ambition and implementation. Recognising the urgent need to ramp up global action and support the most vulnerable developing countries affected by climate change, the EU supported the establishment of a new fund to help avert, minimise and address loss and damage. This lays the foundations for greater solidarity between those in need and those in a position to help. The EU and the African Union announced an initiative with a ‘Team Europe’ approach to climate change adaptation and resilience in Africa, under the Global Gateway (see Chapter 8), mobilising €1 billion.

The event also saw the EU launch a Forest Partnership with five partner countries (Guyana, Mongolia, the Republic of Congo, Uganda and Zambia), and the announcement of an ambitious, long-term Just Energy Transition Investment Plan for South Africa. The EU concluded two important strategic partnerships on sustainable raw materials and renewable hydrogen, one with Namibia and the other with Kazakhstan, and stepped up cooperation with Egypt on the clean-energy transition, which included a strategic partnership on renewable hydrogen.

The 15th session of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, held in May, led to the adoption of 38 decisions that highlight the role of sustainable land management in addressing multiple crises. The main outcome was a global pledge to boost drought resilience and invest in land restoration for future prosperity.

The EU strongly advocated for the importance of restoring ecosystems, reforestation and nature-based solutions in the protection of land and soils and highlighted the critical link between protecting nature and addressing the impacts of droughts and climate change.

In 2022, the world also came together at the biggest biodiversity conference in a decade to agree on a new global biodiversity framework. The UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15), originally scheduled for 2020, took place in two parts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first part took place virtually in Kunming (China), from 11 to 15 October 2021, where parties reaffirmed their commitment to achieving the 2050 vision of ‘Living in harmony with nature’, adopting the Kunming Declaration. During the second part of the conference, which took place in Montreal (Canada), from 7 to 19 December 2022, 196 countries met to reach a global agreement on the protection of nature and the planet, setting long-term goals for 2050 and milestones for 2030. The EU, under the leadership of Commissioner Sinkevičius, worked with all parties to conclude an ambitious global agreement to protect, restore, sustainably use and invest in biodiversity and ecosystems.

At the 19th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (the World Wildlife Conference), which took place in Panama City (Panama), from 14 to 25 November 2022, the EU actively contributed to achieving key outcomes allowing for sustainable trade in more than 500 newly listed species. This is crucial for tackling global biodiversity loss, which threatens our health, food security and livelihoods.

Protecting and restoring Europe’s nature

Extreme weather

Europe experienced record levels of drought in 2022. As predicted by the European Drought Observatory, crop yields across the continent reduced significantly, and energy production dropped due to reduced hydropower generation.

Aquatic life and barge transport suffered too, due to historically low water levels in large rivers. During the summer, high levels of drought resulting in the loss of crops and infrastructure to wildfires were registered in 60 % of the EU’s territory. Together with civil protection measures, this cost the EU over €2.4 billion.

High temperatures and a severe lack of rainfall affected almost all rivers across Europe, hampering energy production and river transport.

These extreme weather events can be avoided in the future by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and tackling the climate crisis. The EU’s Fit for 55 package of proposals will increase ambitions and targets in this area. Moreover, the EU Climate Adaptation Strategy will help European citizens, farmers and companies cope with extreme weather.

The map shows the distribution of the levels of drought across the territory of the EU. According to the September 2022 map of the Combined Drought Indicator, 35% of the EU territory was at the warning level and 25% at the alert level. The highest soil moisture deficits were recorded in western Europe (Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom, etc.) and in eastern and south-eastern European countries. Vegetation stress due to soil moisture and vegetation deficit affected almost the entire EU territory. To a lesser extent, the rainfall deficit was evenly distributed across the territory of the EU. In the southern parts of Greece, Spain and Italy, and parts of eastern Europe, conditions had fully recovered. Temporary recovery of soil moisture and vegetation were insignificant at the time.

Protecting forests and wildlife

Forest fires were also a serious problem, with a record of over 800 000 hectares burnt in Europe in 2022. Rescue teams used Copernicus’ emergency mapping service, which uses satellite imagery and other geospatial data, to help countries including Greece, Spain, France and Portugal, along with some non-EU countries, fight fires over the summer.

The European Forest Fire Information System observed that the fire season stretched beyond the usual months of July, August and September, with many critical events happening later in the year. Even areas usually unaffected in the past – such as central and northern Europe – faced wildfires more regularly. Moreover, with 38 % of the burnt area in 2022 happening within Natura 2000 protected areas, intangible biodiversity losses left ecosystems more fragile. The EU Solidarity Fund, originally set up in 2002 to provide financial support to reconstruct areas affected by natural disasters, was mobilised again in 2022 in response to the damage left in the wake of wildfires across Europe.

Forests play a key role in protecting European ecosystems and biodiversity. They are also central in trapping carbon which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere and aggravate climate change. In a single year, wildfires led to estimated economic losses of over €2 billion, with more than 25 million tonnes of CO₂ emitted into the atmosphere. In September, in her State of the Union speech, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a doubling of the EU’s aerial firefighting capacities, to be made available for the next forest fire season.

In November, the European Commission proposed the first EU-wide voluntary framework to reliably certify high-quality carbon removals. If adopted, this tool will help in the fight against climate change and contribute to reaching the EU’s climate, environmental and zero-pollution goals.

By the end of 2022, almost 9.5 million trees were planted in the EU as part of the 3 Billion Trees Pledge. The pledge is part of the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the EU Forest Strategy for 2030, which committed the European Union to planting at least 3 billion additional trees in the EU by 2030, while respecting ecological principles.

The revised EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking, which is also part of the Biodiversity Strategy, aims to ensure that EU action against wildlife trafficking comprehensively responds to the current challenges. It builds on four priorities: addressing the drivers of wildlife trafficking, exploring new legal and policy tools, strengthening enforcement and fostering global cooperation.

To reach the goal of being climate neutral by 2050, the EU needs to reduce its emissions to a minimum, but it is not possible to reduce them to zero. To balance out remaining emissions, the EU will have to remove several hundred million tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere every year.

Types of carbon removal that could be certified under the proposed framework include the following.

Thanks to the EU certification framework, more businesses, farmers, foresters and other stakeholders can access these new opportunities, as they will be able to apply for harmonised and reliable certification.

In June 2022, the Commission adopted a package of proposals to restore degraded ecosystems, as a key step in avoiding ecosystem collapse and preventing the worst impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss. The Commission is also in the process of modernising legislation to ensure the availability of quality and diverse seeds and plant reproductive material to meet the objectives of sustainability, climate adaptation and biodiversity.

Towards zero pollution

In line with the ambition to be free of harm from pollution by 2050, in October the Commission proposed stronger rules on ambient air, surface and groundwater pollutants, and the treatment of urban wastewater. Ultimately, these rules will improve public health, reducing premature deaths and long-term health costs.

The proposals also respond to specific demands raised during the Conference on the Future of Europe (see Chapter 9), where citizens called for a drastic reduction in the use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers and the development of sustainable agriculture.

In addition to this, the EU and the Mediterranean states successfully submitted a proposal to the International Maritime Organization to designate a sulphur emission control area in the Mediterranean Sea. The aim is to improve air and water quality by reducing sulphur-related pollutants from shipping.

The proposal for a regulation on the sustainable use of plant protection products introduces measures to reduce the environmental footprint of the EU’s food system and help mitigate the economic losses already incurred due to climate change and biodiversity loss. It aims for a 50 % reduction in the use of chemical and more hazardous pesticides by 2030, and more environmentally friendly pest control methods. There will be a ban on all pesticides in urban green areas, including public parks or gardens, playgrounds, schools, recreation or sports grounds, public paths and protected areas, in accordance with Natura 2000.

Reducing transport and industrial emissions

In 2022, the EU also kicked off the Renewable and Low-Carbon Fuels Value Chain Industrial Alliance, a new initiative aimed at boosting the production and supply of renewable and low-carbon fuels in aviation and waterborne transport. The work of the alliance will be important in securing the necessary alternative fuels for hard-to-decarbonise sectors, such as aviation and maritime. Further progress was also made on developing rules for the use of alternative fuels in these sectors. If successfully adopted in 2023, they will set a clear path for the decarbonisation of these sectors.

The Commission’s proposal to modernise the Industrial Emissions Directive will significantly reduce harmful emissions coming from industrial installations and Europe’s largest livestock farms, while providing long-term investment certainty, encouraging innovation and increasing Europe’s energy and resource independence. The revision builds on the existing directive, covering some 50 000 large agro-industrial installations in Europe. They must comply with emissions limits by applying the best available techniques determined by industry, national and EU experts, and civil society. The new rules include more effective permits and targeted support for innovation for frontrunners and for the industry’s circular economy investments. This will strengthen the links between decreasing pollution and decarbonisation and increase transparency and public participation in the permit process.

Boosting organic farming and traditional quality food

Sustainable agriculture and reducing pesticide use is crucial to guarantee long-term food security. In 2021, Member States submitted their plans to reform the Common Agricultural Policy following Commission recommendations. In August 2022, the Commission formally approved these Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plans, which outline each Member State’s intended use of direct payments and economic interventions to support rural development. The new legislation, which is due to come into effect in 2023, will pave the way for a fairer, greener and more efficient agricultural policy. It will seek to ensure a sustainable future for European farmers, provide more targeted support to smaller farms and allow EU Member States greater flexibility to adapt measures to local conditions.

In March, the Commission adopted a proposal to strengthen the system for the protection of geographical indications, including the names of certain wines, agricultural products and spirit drinks. The geographical indications system protects the names of specific products in order to promote the unique qualities, characteristics or reputation linked to their geographical origin, as well as the traditional expertise associated with their production.

Sustainable living

Cities and citizens have a key role to play in creating a green and sustainable Europe. The EU aims to support people-powered projects and local authorities in co-designing this new world through financial support and environmental initiatives.

In 2022, 100 mayors across the EU signed the Green City Accord, committing their cities to addressing five areas of environmental management: air, water, nature and biodiversity, circular economy and waste, and noise. This EU initiative aims to make cities cleaner, greener and healthier.

First announced in 2020, the New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative brings citizens, experts, businesses and institutions together to reimagine sustainable living in Europe and beyond. In addition to creating a platform for experimentation and connection, the initiative supports positive change by also providing beautiful, sustainable and inclusive projects with access to EU funding.

To support urban innovation and cities’ capabilities and knowledge, with a view to building a sustainable future, the European Urban Initiative was set up under the European Regional Development Fund. The first call for proposals, published in October, made €50 million of EU funding available to support innovative NEB projects. Cities were invited to present project ideas on the circular economy and carbon neutrality, the preservation of cultural heritage, the adaptation of buildings for affordable housing solutions and the regeneration of urban spaces in line with the NEB values of sustainability, inclusiveness and aesthetics.

The winners of the 2022 NEB prizes were announced at the first Festival of the New European Bauhaus, held in June, which brought people from all over the EU together to celebrate and share grassroots and creative approaches to the green transition. Projects from 15 different Member States were awarded prizes.

To highlight the innovative spirit of younger people, the NEB prizes dedicate the ‘Rising Star’ award to projects developed by people under 30. To complement the European Year of Youth 2022, ‘A New European Bauhaus’ was the focus for DiscoverEU, a yearly initiative that helps 18-year-olds travel across Europe for free. In this context, a New European Bauhaus route was developed for participants to follow.

Together with the Education for Climate Coalition, the EU announced a call for the transformation of places of learning, to create a network to transform learning spaces across society.

In response to the armed conflict in Ukraine, NEB experts are analysing emergency housing needs and designing sustainable housing in preparation for post-war reconstruction (see Chapter 1).

Sustainable and smart mobility

The Commission officially launched the Alliance for Zero-emission Aviation, a voluntary European initiative between private and public stakeholders to prepare hydrogen-powered and electric aircraft for commercial use. By securing an estimated 26 000 zero-emission aircraft by 2050, the alliance will deliver on the commitment to align the sector with the EU’s climate ambitions.

To ensure that cars and other vehicles are safer, while also laying down a framework for automated vehicles, the EU’s Vehicle General Safety Regulation came into force in 2022. The first of its kind in the world, the framework protects consumers and will also boost innovation and improve the competitiveness of Europe’s car industry.

Under the 2021–2027 Connecting Europe Facility, the EU’s funding instrument supporting the Green Deal, the Commission is investing in a wide range of transport infrastructure projects across the EU. These aim to improve cross-border infrastructure and promote new technologies. Examples include the Lyon–Turin tunnel, the Fehmarn Belt fixed link and the Rail Baltica project.

To make Europe’s transport infrastructure fit for both civil and defence use, the Commission adopted an Action Plan on Military Mobility and brought forward the grants process for projects that support military mobility. Other projects will help put in place infrastructure for projected increases in energy-efficient and zero-emission mobility.

In total, €25.8 billion in grants is available under the Connecting Europe Facility to co-fund Trans-European Transport Network projects in EU Member States.

Following the 2021 European Year of Rail, the EU started implementing its new Action Plan to Boost Long-distance and Cross-border Passenger Rail. The Commission has invited railway undertakings, infrastructure managers and national authorities to propose cross-border pilot services that address the remaining obstacles to cross-border rail. The transition to sustainable transport, part of the comprehensive Green Deal package, will make sure that the EU’s communities and economy can thrive in a healthy and safe environment, far beyond 2050.

Cross-border passenger rail transport needs a boost. In 2018, passenger traffic accounted for 7% of cross-border traffic in the EU, while freight traffic accounted for 52%. In 2019, there were 2,804 conventional long-distance cross-border passenger trains per week, up from 2,545 in 2001, and the number of high-speed cross-border long-distance passenger trains nearly doubled, from 637 per week in 2001 to 1,244 per week in 2019. There was a significant decrease in cross-border overnight passenger trains, from 1,257 per week in 2001 to 445 per week in 2019. Overall, there was a 95% increase in cross-border high-speed services, a 65% decrease in cross-border overnight trains and a 1% increase in combined cross-border services.

Introduction

Closely interconnected with the EU’s goal of climate neutrality is the EU’s vision of leading Europe into the digital era. Its 10-year plan, also known as the Digital Decade, includes targets for the digitalisation of public services and businesses, setting up digital infrastructures such as 5G and supercomputers and ensuring that EU citizens are equipped with the necessary skills to navigate the digital environment with confidence. The Digital Decade Policy Programme 2030, adopted by the EU in 2022, will ensure that these targets are reached by Member States.

The EU’s Digital Decade will be an era of pioneering transitions towards a safer and more sustainable world. To this end, in 2022 the EU took action to update cybersecurity rules, recognise digital rights and increase the accountability of digital service providers, while putting in place the necessary digital infrastructure and supporting the development of digital skills. It also proposed new rules for fairer data access and made progress in regulating the digitalisation of different sectors.

Digitalisation for citizens

A human-centric approach to digitalisation is at the heart of the EU’s Digital Decade. This means that individuals’ rights and freedoms must be respected online in the same way as they are offline. In 2022, the EU adopted the Declaration on Digital Rights and Principles for the Digital Decade, which sets out clear reference points to ensure that people are protected and empowered when they interact with new technologies.

The first principle is people at the centre. Digital technologies should protect people’s rights, support democracy and ensure that all digital players act responsibly and safely. The EU promotes these values across the world. The second principle is solidarity and inclusion. Technology should unite people, not divide them. Everyone should have access to the internet, to digital skills, to digital public services and to fair working conditions. The third principle is freedom of choice. People should benefit from a fair online environment, be safe from illegal and harmful content and be empowered when they interact with new and evolving technologies like artificial intelligence. The fourth principle is participation. Citizens should be able to engage in the democratic process at all levels and have control over their own data. The fifth principle is safety and security. The digital environment should be safe and secure. All users, from childhood to old age, should be empowered and protected. The sixth principle is sustainability. Digital devices should support sustainability and the green transition. People need to know about the environmental impact and energy consumption of their devices.

Cybersecurity and resilience

As Europeans spend more time online and society becomes increasingly interconnected, cyber threats are becoming more common and potentially more dangerous. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine also poses a unique threat to Europe’s cyberdefence.

In 2022, the EU updated legislation on measures to achieve a high level of common cybersecurity in all Member States. Published in December 2022, the new rules, known as the NIS2 Directive, replaced the previous Network and Information Security (NIS) Directive on 16 January 2023. To help increase the overall level of cybersecurity in Europe, the new rules expand the list of critical entities and sectors that need to take risk-management measures.

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Critical infrastructure, such as undersea cables and pipelines for transport and communication, are often closely linked to many different digital services and therefore need to be protected. The sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines and other incidents have made it clear that the resilience of the EU’s critical infrastructure is under threat. Recently agreed legislation will soon provide the EU with an updated and comprehensive legal framework to strengthen both the physical and cyber resilience of critical infrastructure.

In light of the rapidly evolving threat landscape, the European Commission proposed to strengthen the capacity of early warning and response to disruptions of critical infrastructure through the Union Civil Protection Mechanism. The proposal also calls for strengthened cooperation with key partners and neighbouring countries on the resilience of critical infrastructure.

In terms of digital products that we use in our daily lives, in September 2022 the Commission presented a proposal for a new Cyber Resilience Act. Many products, such as baby monitors, smart devices or voice-activated speakers, currently have a low level of cybersecurity, resulting in widespread vulnerabilities and inconsistent security updates.

Moreover, it is often difficult for users of these products to find out whether specific products are secure against cyber threats. The new proposal will ensure that manufacturers improve the security of their products and the transparency of security properties.

The Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act

Online platforms are another key element of today’s digital world. They allow people to communicate, get information and shop online. At the same time, they can also pose risks relating to illegal or harmful content and unfair market practices. That is why the EU has introduced the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, which both entered into force in November 2022.

The Digital Services Act will set an unprecedented new standard for the accountability of online platforms and search engines regarding illegal and harmful content. When it becomes applicable for very large online platforms and very large online search engines for the first time around autumn 2023, and for all other platforms in February 2024, it will provide better protection for internet users and their fundamental rights online. Providers will benefit from a single set of internal market rules and smaller platforms will be able to scale up more easily.

Related to this, the Digital Markets Act rules, which will apply from 2 May 2023, will curb unfair practices of large online platforms, referred to as gatekeepers. Gatekeepers will all have been designated by 6 September 2023 and must comply with the obligations laid down in the act by 6 March 2024 at the latest. The act contains a list of dos and don’ts that gatekeepers will have to comply with; for example, it will no longer be possible for gatekeepers to rank their own products more favourably than similar third-party products offered on the gatekeeper’s platform.

Short-term rental platform regulation

To protect tourists, the Commission also proposed to make data about short-stay rental bookings and accommodation more transparent, in particular when it comes to requesting ownership information, address details and business registration numbers. This will enable city authorities to work alongside booking platforms to shut down unauthorised listings and protect consumers from booking illegal accommodation.

Another decade of roaming

Thanks to the new and improved roaming regulation that came into force in July 2022, citizens can ‘roam like at home’ for at least another 10 years and get better mobile speeds when travelling abroad. They can also receive information on services that are subject to extra costs, have better protection from unexpected charges when phones automatically connect to satellite networks and receive information on alternative ways to reach emergency services abroad in the EU.

Common charger

Thanks to new rules, EU consumers will soon be able to use the same charging solution for all their electronic devices and opt out of buying extra chargers with each new device. By the end of 2024, all mobile phones, tablets and cameras sold in the EU will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port. From spring 2026, the obligation will extend to laptops. This will enable consumers to reduce electronic waste.

The types of electronic devices covered by the common charger directive are mobile phones, mice, keyboards, laptops, e-readers, portable navigation systems, portable loudspeakers, headsets, earbuds and earphones, handheld videogame consoles, digital cameras and tablets.

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Digital for industry

Connectivity

Increased connectivity boosts the quality of life and the economy; it is also becoming more important for sustainable living. However, there is still a digital divide between urban, rural and remote areas.

EU Member States have committed to invest around €130 billion from the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) in measures contributing to the digital transformation, including connectivity measures. This figure corresponds to 26 % of the total amount of funds requested by Member States under the RRF by the end of 2022 and goes well beyond the 20 % minimum requirement for digital expenditure established by the RRF rules (see Chapter 6 for more on the recovery and resilience plans).

In total, the 27 national recovery and resilience plans include connectivity measures worth around €16.5 billion. The aim is to roll out digital network infrastructure over the next 4 years, including in rural and remote regions, to enable them to thrive and to boost innovation and sustainability. The EU will also leverage investments in connectivity through the new European Regional Development Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, InvestEU and European Investment Bank loans.

In 2022, the Commission also launched the first calls for proposals under the Connecting Europe Facility programme to improve the EU’s connectivity infrastructure. The Commission will co-fund initiatives to equip Europe’s main transport routes and local communities with 5G connectivity, to deploy or upgrade essential networks that support advanced technologies and lay the groundwork for the set-up of operational digital platforms for transport and energy infrastructure across the EU.

Digital Europe Programme

With a budget of €7.5 billion from 2021 to 2027, the Digital Europe Programme is the first EU funding programme which focuses on bringing digital technology to public administrations, businesses and citizens.

In 2022, several calls for proposals were launched. These included funding opportunities for projects on data spaces, blockchain infrastructures, advanced digital skills training courses, artificial intelligence (AI) and activities to improve cybersecurity cooperation between the Member States and the Commission.

Further calls were launched in relation to national high-performance computing centres, the deployment of advanced national quantum communication infrastructure systems and networks, and European digital innovation hubs.

The European Chips Act: bolstering Europe’s competitiveness

Chips and semiconductors are the building blocks of all electronic products, from smart devices to space and defence systems. They play a central role in today’s economies and our daily lives. The recent global chips shortage has disrupted supply chains, caused product shortages ranging from cars to medical devices and in some cases even forced factories to close.

To prevent such disruptions in the future, the EU proposed the European Chips Act which will help build up the EU’s semiconductor ecosystem by tackling several strategic objectives. One of these is to strengthen the EU’s research and technological leadership, which will reinforce its capacity to innovate in the design, manufacturing and packaging of advanced chips. At the same time, the European Chips Act also aims to address skills shortages in advanced manufacturing, so that the EU remains an attractive place for the world’s top talent in this important field.

Progress on the European Strategy for Data

Data – especially industrial data – help fuel the digital economy, but the full potential of these data is still largely untapped. The Data Act, proposed in 2022, includes new rules on who can use and access data generated in the EU across all economic sectors.

The 2020 European Strategy for Data aims to make the EU a leader in a data-driven society. The 2020 Data Governance Act facilitates data sharing across sectors and between Member States. The 2022 Data Act clarifies who can create value from data. Ten European common data spaces, ranging from industry to mobility, from the European Green Deal to energy and health. Consumers and businesses generate data by using products and services. With the Data Act, they will benefit from cheaper prices for aftermarket services and reparation of their connected objects. Today, if a factory robot breaks down, only the manufacturer can access the data, leaving the company with no alternative but to call them for repairs. In the future, the user could request that a repair service that might be cheaper also gets access to the data. Consumers and businesses will also benefit from new opportunities to use services relying on access to this data. Nowadays, a farmer with equipment from different manufacturers (tractor, automatic irrigation system) cannot outsource the data analytics of their equipment. The data is locked in with each manufacturer. In the future, they could receive customised advice from a company gathering data from each piece of equipment. Consumers and businesses could also have better access to data collected or produced by a device. Nowadays, if a bar owner wants to serve better coffee and the coffee machine company wants to improve its product, the company can access the data produced by the machine in order to design the next generation of coffeemakers, but the bar owner cannot access any information. The Data Act stipulates that, in the future, both parties will be able to access all data collected by the machine.

In addition, the ‘GreenData4All’ initiative will help deliver on Europe’s green and digital transformation by updating the EU’s rules on environmental geospatial data and on public access to environmental information. The aim is to make data more readily available for innovation and evidence-based decisions.

Digitalisation of healthcare in the EU

Health data provide valuable insight to healthcare service providers and researchers. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the development and adoption of digital health products and services, with telehealth becoming commonplace. What’s more, it has shown that up-to-date, reliable and FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) health data are key to providing efficient care in times of crisis and in developing effective treatment.

The European Health Data Space, proposed in May 2022, is the first common data space in a specific area to emerge from the EU Strategy for Data and is an integral part of building a European Health Union. It places the interests and rights of the individual at its centre.

The objective is to ensure that individuals in the EU have increased control over their electronic health data and are able to share their electronic health records with a doctor of their choice, even in a different Member State. It will also ensure a legal framework consisting of trusted EU and Member State governance mechanisms and a secure processing environment. This will allow researchers, innovators, policymakers and regulators at the EU and national levels to access relevant electronic health data to promote better diagnosis, treatment and well-being of natural persons, and lead to better and well-informed policies. It also aims to contribute to a genuine single market for digital health products and services by harmonising rules, thereby boosting efficiency in the healthcare system.

Space

In 2022, there were approximately 500,000 measurements per day, 176 organisations registered from 22 Member States, 13608 close approaches, 7 fragmentation analysis events, 77 re-entry analysis events, 756 high-interest events and 310 satellites monitored.

Digital education

Digital education and digital skills

For citizens to benefit from the transition, they must have the skills to help them thrive in the digital world. The 2022 Digital Economy and Society Index revealed that only 54 % of European citizens between the ages of 16 and 74 have basic digital skills, while the Digital Decade target is 80 % by 2030. This demonstrates the urgent need for more action to build Europeans’ digital skill sets. The Digital Skills and Jobs Platform, launched in 2022, aims to bridge this gap.

The EU also worked with Member States to identify the challenges in providing high-quality digital education and skills to all. The outcome of these discussions will feed into the Digital Education Action Plan. In 2022, the EU continued to provide guidelines for teachers and educators on disinformation and the ethical use of AI and data in teaching, both of which are important elements of digital literacy. Following the development of the European digital education hub, a community where educators can share best practices was formed in June 2022.

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Supercomputers and artificial intelligence

Supercomputers

A world-class supercomputer ecosystem in Europe is essential for promoting scientific excellence and industrial strength. A network of supercomputers would also ensure the EU’s technological sovereignty, meaning that it would have ownership of its important digital technologies.

In June 2022, the European High Performance Computing Joint Undertaking (EuroHPC JU) – a legal entity that allows participating countries to pool resources to set up supercomputers – inaugurated the supercomputer LUMI in Kajaani (Finland). This was followed in November 2022 by the inauguration of the supercomputer Leonardo in Bologna (Italy). LUMI and Leonardo are the two fastest supercomputers in Europe and rank third and fourth fastest in the world, respectively.

Their computing power complements the EuroHPC JU’s existing supercomputers: Discoverer in Bulgaria, Karolina in Czechia, MeluXina in Luxembourg and Vega in Slovenia. Two more EuroHPC supercomputers are currently being set up: MareNostrum5 in Barcelona (Spain), and Deucalion in Portugal.

In 2022, it was announced that Europe’s first exascale supercomputer, Jupiter, will be hosted in the Jülich Supercomputing Centre in Germany. Exascale capability represents a major technological milestone for the EU and greatly promotes European scientific excellence. This will benefit complementary technologies, such as quantum computing, digital twins and big data.

In October 2022, six sites across the EU were selected to host and operate the first quantum computers: Czechia, Germany, Spain, France, Italy and Poland. Quantum computers are able to perform calculations that are too complex for standard computers.

Artificial intelligence

AI is one of the most important emerging technologies: it is already at the core of many of the tools we use daily, such as social media algorithms, and will enable new technologies like autonomous vehicles.

In 2022, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union continued negotiations on the proposed Artificial Intelligence Act, which aims to introduce a common regulatory framework for AI. The Commission and the Government of Spain presented a pilot of the first regulatory sandbox on AI, allowing businesses to explore the effects of the framework’s rules on certain AI projects in a controlled environment. This will help ensure the implementation of the legislation within 2 years. The tests began in October 2022 and results will be published in the second half of 2023.

Digital finance

The Digital Operational Resilience Act

Regulation on crypto assets

The EU is among the first major jurisdictions in the world to design a comprehensive regulatory framework for rules on crypto assets, namely the proposed regulation on markets in crypto assets. The new rules will provide a clear legal framework for crypto assets that are not already regulated by other EU financial legislation, thereby protecting consumers, market integrity and financial stability.

For ‘stablecoins’, namely cryptocurrencies that are less volatile than classic cryptocurrencies, the agreement sets out strict requirements on establishment, authorisation and reserve management, including EU supervision for significant ‘stablecoins’ that are systemically important. Crypto asset service providers will also need to be authorised in the EU, and as a result, will be able to provide their services throughout the EU.

In addition, co-legislators agreed on the proposal to amend the Transfer of Funds Regulation. The agreement provides for an obligation for all crypto service providers involved in crypto transfers to collect data on the originators and beneficiaries of the crypto-asset transfers they operate, and make them available to the competent authorities in charge of the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing. These new rules will significantly enhance the monitoring and traceability of crypto-asset transfers and ensure compliance with the relevant measures called for in the Financial Action Task Force recommendations.

Introduction

In 2022, the EU’s recovery plan, NextGenerationEU, continued to deliver on the ground, financing important measures to boost the resilience of the economy and society and to accelerate the green and digital transitions.

After a strong first half of the year, the EU’s growth started to slow down and inflation started to rise as one of the consequences of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Despite the challenges, the labour market continued to perform strongly.

With the economic outlook uncertain due to risks related to future gas supplies, the EU accelerated its transition to clean energy to end its dependency on Russian fossil fuels. At the same time, the EU continued its work to strengthen the resilience of the Single Market and support industry and businesses on the path to climate neutrality.

Europe’s economic growth

Trends

The EU economy entered a challenging phase in the second half of 2022. The shocks unleashed by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine hit the EU economy both directly and indirectly, setting it on a path of lower growth and higher inflation. The rapid increase in energy and food commodity prices eroded the purchasing power of households across the EU.

While Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has had a serious effect on certain sectors of the EU economy, the labour market continued to perform strongly, benefiting from short-time work schemes supported by the SURE initiative (Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency). Unemployment reached record-low levels of 6.2 % in 2022.

Overall, the EU economy is set to continue expanding, but at a significantly slower pace than previously expected. The forecasts for economic activity and inflation remain heavily dependent on the evolution of the war and its impacts on the supply of gas to Europe.

In this context, the swift implementation of the €723.8 billion Recovery and Resilience Facility at the heart of the NextGenerationEU recovery plan remains the priority, as it provides Europe with exactly what it needs today.

A new chapter for national recovery and resilience plans

As the key instrument at the heart of NextGenerationEU, the Recovery and Resilience Facility is designed to mitigate the economic and social impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It aims to make European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the green and digital transitions.

It does so by supporting the implementation of crucial investment and reform measures outlined in Member States’ recovery and resilience plans. This includes a wide range of measures, from reducing the carbon footprint of public transport in Portugal and modernising healthcare services in Slovakia, to the digitalisation of public services in Estonia. The European Commission estimates that the total stimulus from NextGenerationEU could boost the EU’s economic growth by up to 1.5 % by 2027 and help create up to 1.5 million new jobs.

The total next generation EU package amounts to 806.9 billion euro. The recovery and resilience facility is composed of a total of 723.8 billion euro, made up of 338.0 billion euro in grants and 385.8 billion euro in loans. It will power the EU by funding clean technologies and renewables, renovate to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, recharge and refuel by supporting sustainable transport and charging stations, connect by rolling out rapid broadband services, modernise by digitalising public administration, scale up the data cloud and sustainable processors, and reskill and upskill by funding education and training to support digital skills. Next generation EU’s contribution to other programmes amounts to 83.1 billion euro, consisting of 50.6 billion for react EU, 10.9 billion euro for the just transition fund, 8.1 billion euro for rural development, 6.1 billion euro for invest EU, 5.4 billion euro for horizon Europe and 2.0 billion euro for resque EU.

A report published in July confirms that major headway has been made in the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility and that the ambitious reform and investment agenda of Member States is well on track. By December, all 27 recovery and resilience plans had been approved and Member States had committed more than €200 billion to climate expenditure and €130 billion to digital spending. These sums amount to more than 40 % and 26 % of the total amount of funds requested by Member States under the facility by the end of 2022, well over the targets of 37 % and 20 % established by the regulation.

The facility is also at the heart of the REPowerEU Plan, the EU’s response to the socioeconomic hardships and global energy market disruption caused by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. It supports the coordinated planning and financing of relevant infrastructure, energy projects and reforms in order to give the EU a more reliable, affordable and sustainable energy supply by improving the energy mix and moving away from Russian fossil fuels (see Chapter 2). In December, a political agreement was reached to include dedicated chapters in Member States’ existing recovery and resilience plans to support REPowerEU priorities.

As a performance-based instrument, payments under the facility are dependent on Member States reaching the milestones and targets for the investments and reforms included in their respective recovery and resilience plans. This set-up has proved to help accelerate reforms in some Member States, ensuring effective delivery. Member States’ monitoring and control systems – a precondition for the approval of the recovery and resilience plans – have also created a sense of national ownership that is crucial to the success of difficult reforms.

The Recovery and Resilience Scoreboard website gives a transparent overview of how the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the national plans is progressing.

The Commission is helping Member States implement their recovery and resilience plans through the Technical Support Instrument – the EU programme that provides tailor-made technical expertise to design and implement reforms. The Commission has responded to the requests of 19 Member States for support. In addition, 17 Member States are receiving technical support to implement the REPowerEU Plan.

An economic governance framework fit for the challenges ahead

Enhancing Europe’s economic, social and territorial cohesion

The EU’s regional policy, also known as cohesion policy, aims to correct inequalities between regions. It delivers on the EU’s political priorities, especially economic, social and territorial cohesion, and the green and digital transitions.

In 2022, the Commission adopted the 2021–2027 partnership agreements on EU funds with all the Member States. These are key instruments in every financing period as they set out the strategies of each country regarding the investment of 2021– 2027 funding for EU regions. The launch of the agreements was followed by the adoption of 380 national, regional and thematic cohesion-policy programmes, including territorial just transition plans and 80 cross-border programmes that operationalise the strategies in specific initiatives on the ground.

The 2021–2027 Interreg España–Portugal TOGETHER project is the EU’s largest cross-border funding programme, with a budget of 320 million euro. The budget for the together for cooperation in north-western Europe, the Atlantic area and the Arctic area programmes is 467 million euro. The budget for the Together for a Just Transition programme with targeted investments in Karlovarský, Ústecký and Moravskoslezský in Czechia is 1.64 billion euro.

Ensuring a just transition

The Just Transition Mechanism, a key tool to ensure that the transition towards a climate-neutral economy happens in a fair way, leaving no one behind, has already started to deliver on its promise to mobilise up to €55 billion in investment by 2029 .Some 67 of the expected 70 territorial Just Transition plans have been adopted, in 26 Member States.

A new rare-earth magnet factory in Ida-Virumaa (Estonia) was the first project to secure financing from the Just Transition Fund. Other coal and carbon-fuel intensive regions are also selecting the first investments under the fund.

Support for Just Transition regions increased through the Just Transition Platform, which offers tailored support and the exchange of information and best practices on the platform’s portal and at the biannual conferences.

In February, the Commission published the eighth cohesion report, which assesses the state of EU regions across multiple policy areas, including the economy, energy, transport, innovation, demography and society. The report found that thanks to cohesion-policy investment, most less-developed regions are catching up and that the gap between them and wealthier areas of the EU is reducing. At the same time, some challenging developments need policy attention, such as economic stagnation in some areas, a widening innovation divide and demographic ageing.

Putting people first – a renewed strategy for the outermost regions

To foster cohesion within the EU, in 2022, the Commission adopted a modernised and revamped strategy of engagement and support for the EU’s outermost regions. The nine overseas territories – the Canary Islands (Spain), French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion and Saint Martin (France), and the Azores and Madeira (Portugal) – continue to face a set of distinct structural conditions, both challenges and advantages, which require tailor-made solutions. The new strategy puts people first by proposing concrete measures to improve the living conditions of their 5 million inhabitants. It will do this by supporting the green and digital transitions and building on their unique assets, such as their young population, extensive maritime zones, unique biodiversity and research potential. The strategy will deliver specific assistance, ensuring that the outermost regions can fully benefit from EU policies and reap their potential.

The strategy was put in motion with two dedicated instruments of assistance being launched in 2022: a €1 million small grants scheme for young people to carry out local projects in areas of their choice and a €1 million project to support blue sustainable tourism. In addition, the strategy announced the creation of a new advisory tool designed specifically for the outermost regions, an on-demand instrument to help develop, refine and implement regional development strategies for the outermost territories.

Crisis-proofing the Single Market

For almost 30 years, the Single Market has been the EU’s most important asset, offering certainty, scale and a global springboard for its companies, along with a wide availability of quality products and services for consumers.

However, recent crises have challenged the normal functioning of the Single Market, particularly in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when businesses and citizens suffered from entry restrictions, disruptions to supply chains and a lack of predictability concerning rules. More recently, the impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has shown how quickly some supply chains can disintegrate, risking shortages of certain goods and services in Europe and forcing businesses to look for new markets.

As a result, the Commission has proposed a new framework to protect the functioning of the Single Market in times of crisis. The Single Market Emergency Instrument will help ensure that goods, services and people can continue to move freely in the Single Market, safeguard the smooth-running of supply chains and guarantee the availability of and access to critical goods and services.

Tourism was one of the sectors hardest hit by the pandemic, and the first to benefit from a new initiative to accelerate the green and digital transitions across EU industry. In line with the 2021 update to the EU Industrial Strategy, in February 2022, the Commission published the transition pathway to tourism – a plan jointly created with industry and civil society, detailing key initiatives, targets and conditions to achieve the twin transformations and the long-term resilience of the sector.

Following a call for the EU’s tourism community to share their concrete measures and targets, more than 250 pledges were published during 2022. These include initiatives by public authorities and destination management organisations to establish and follow strategies for environmentally, economically and socially sustainable tourism, to enable tourism service providers to work with online booking tools, and to share information on their offers digitally. The private sector is also actively engaged, with several large companies making concrete commitments to reduce their carbon footprint, water use and waste generation. In addition, both small and large private stakeholders have set targets on providing sustainable tourism options.

In addition to looking within its borders to strengthen the resilience of the European economy, the EU is also addressing areas where it faces dependencies on non-EU countries. In February 2022, the Commission issued a second in-depth analysis focusing on five strategic areas: rare earths and magnesium, chemicals, solar panels, cybersecurity and information technology software.

Building on the findings, the Commission has followed up with several initiatives, including launching the European Solar Photovoltaic Industry Alliance. This aims to boost Europe’s capacity to produce solar and photovoltaic technologies to 30 gigawatts annually by 2025 across each segment of the photovoltaic value chain. Reaching this objective would deliver €60 billion of new gross domestic product per year in Europe and create more than 400 000 new jobs.

Standards are the silent foundation of the Single Market and global competitiveness. From Wi-Fi frequencies to connected toys or ski bindings, they are an invisible but fundamental part of people’s daily lives. As part of the new Standardisation Strategy, the Commission put forward new rules that lay out a more strategic approach to standards and enshrine democratic values in technology applications. The new strategy will benefit businesses and consumers by ensuring the interoperability of products and services, reducing costs, improving safety and fostering innovation.

In 2022, the Commission also presented revised rules to ensure design legislation takes into account new digital aspects of products and make it easier, cheaper and more predictable to protect industrial designs across the EU.

While the EU has specific geographical indication protection for wines, spirit drinks and other agricultural products and foodstuffs, there is currently no such protection for craft and industrial goods. New rules proposed by the Commission will similarly enable producers to protect products such as Murano glass, Donegal tweed, Limoges porcelain, Solingen cutlery and Boleslawiec pottery and act against fakes in Europe and beyond. They will also make it easier for consumers to recognise the quality of such products.

Fair competition

Quality products at fair prices were needed more than ever in a difficult year for Europeans. Among the strongest tools the European Commission can use to protect consumers and sustain the economy are its antitrust, merger and State-aid decisions that keep competition vibrant and fair in the Single Market.

One example of how the EU’s competition-control system can defend people’s interests was a September ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, largely confirming a decision the Commission had taken against Google and setting the fine to more than €4 billion. The prohibition of Illumina’s acquisition of GRAIL, a deal that would have reduced the choice of early cancer-detection tests, is another decision that shows how competition policy can support innovation. The Commission banned the deal when Illumina failed to offer remedies that would have allayed its concerns.

Sustainable production and consumption

Our current ‘take-make-replace’ economic model depletes our resources, pollutes our environment, damages biodiversity and drives climate change. It also makes Europe dependent on resources from elsewhere. With this in mind, and as part of the Circular Economy Action Plan, the Commission presented a package of proposals in March 2022 to make sustainable products the norm in the EU.

The proposals build on the success of the existing EU ecodesign rules, which have brought about remarkable reductions in the EU’s energy consumption and significant savings for consumers. Last year alone, existing ecodesign requirements saved consumers €120 billion.

The proposal for a regulation on ecodesign for sustainable products addresses product design, which determines up to 80 % of a product’s life cycle environmental impact. It extends the existing Ecodesign framework, establishing requirements to improve the circularity, energy performance and other environmental sustainability aspects of products.

The package also included a new strategy to make textiles more durable, repairable, reusable and recyclable. It aims to tackle fast fashion, textile waste and the destruction of unsold textiles, and ensure that their production takes place in full respect of social rights.

New rules proposed by the Commission will ensure that consumers can make informed and environmentally friendly choices when buying products. Whether it is a mobile phone or a kitchen appliance, consumers will be better informed about how long the product is made to last and if it can be repaired. The new rules will also ban ‘greenwashing’ and practices misleading consumers about the durability of a product.

Accelerating sustainable investments

A great deal of private investment is needed for the EU to achieve its goal of climate neutrality by 2050. Sustainable finance is about reorientating investment towards environmentally friendly economic activities and is at the heart of the green and digital transitions. The EU is already a global leader in setting environmental, social and governance standards in financial markets and has created a first-of-its-kind classification system for sustainable activities in the EU (known as the EU taxonomy).

In 2022 the Commission updated the rules with the inclusion of specific transitional activities involving gas and nuclear technologies in line with the EU’s climate and environmental objectives, which become applicable from 2023.

Fair, simple and modern taxation and customs

The EU’s long-term tax agenda for a fair and sustainable business environment sets out targeted measures intended to promote investment and entrepreneurship.

In December, the European Commission put forward a comprehensive package on value added tax (VAT) in the digital age to make it work better for businesses in the modern economy. The package will also make the EU’s VAT system more resilient to fraud, by harnessing the potential of digitalisation.

The key measures proposed include the introduction of a single VAT registration across the EU, a move to real-time digital reporting for cross-border businesses, and updated VAT rules for passenger transport and accommodation platforms. The measures will make the EU’s VAT system better suited for today’s globalised, digitalised business environment and stronger in the fight against fraud.

The Commission also proposed new tax transparency measures for all service providers that facilitate transactions in crypto assets for EU customers (see also Chapter 3). Currently, crypto-asset users make significant profits, which fall under the radar of national tax authorities. This leads to important revenue losses for public budgets. The Commission has proposed that all crypto-asset service providers, irrespective of their size or location, must report the transactions of clients residing in the EU.

The proposal also extends existing reporting and information-exchange requirements to cover e-money and rulings given to individuals with a high net worth.

In December, the Member States also reached unanimous agreement on the forthcoming directive on ensuring a global minimum level of taxation for multinational groups in the European Union. Thanks to this historic agreement, the EU will be a front runner in applying the global tax reform agreement drawn up in 2021 by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The directive includes a common set of rules on how to calculate the 15 % effective minimum tax rate, so that this is properly and consistently applied across the EU. The minimum tax rate of 15 % has been agreed at the global level by 137 countries. Once implemented, the directive will bring fairness, transparency and stability to the international corporate tax framework. Member States must implement the new rules by 31 December 2023.

In 2022, the Commission also launched a reflection process on the future of taxation, taking into account current challenges and future megatrends. This cumulated in a high-level Tax Symposium in November, where ministers, heads of international organisations, stakeholders and academics debated key issues around the future tax mix.

Stronger financial markets

Consumer finance: accelerating the roll-out of instant payments

Instant payments allow people to transfer money at any time of any day within 10 seconds, significantly increasing the speed of transactions and convenience for people, for example when paying bills or receiving urgent transfers (such as in the case of a medical emergency). They also help to improve cash flow and generate cost savings for businesses, especially for small and medium-sized businesses, including retailers. In October, the Commission presented a legislative proposal to make instant payments in euro available to all citizens and businesses holding a bank account in the EU and in countries in the European Economic Area.

Consumers, businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and payment providers can benefit from instant payments. Instant payments allow consumers, businesses and SMEs to receive due money immediately and have a greater choice of payment methods. Consumers can more easily manage their personal finances and have goods purchased online shipped faster. Businesses and SMEs, on the other hand, can save costs by eliminating the need for a payment guarantee. Cash flow is also improved for businesses, SMEs and retailers. Another benefit for both consumers and businesses and SMEs is the release of up to 200 billion euro currently locked in the financial system on any given day for productive use, resulting in economic benefits of 1.34 to 1.84 billion euro per year. Payment providers also have opportunities for innovation, such as new mobile payment apps. Instant payments benefit everyone by ensuring the resilience of the EU’s retail payment system.

Towards a more efficient and resilient Capital Markets Union

The Capital Markets Union is the EU’s long-term plan to deepen the Single Market for capital. The aim is to get money – investments and savings – flowing easily across the EU so that it can benefit consumers, investors and companies, regardless of where they are located.

To advance this plan, in 2022 the Commission put forward two packages of proposals. In March, the Commission proposed changes to the Central Securities Depositories Regulation to make settlement in EU financial markets safer and more efficient. Settlement refers to the delivery of securities to a buyer in exchange for the delivery of cash to a seller. It can take up to 2 business days to settle a transaction, which can result in both credit and legal risks during that period. Ensuring that these transactions are settled in a safe and efficient manner is therefore essential to the EU’s financial system. The proposal aims to provide more proportionate and effective rules to reduce compliance costs and regulatory burdens for central securities depositories, facilitate their ability to offer a broader range of services across borders and improve their cross-border supervision.

The second package of proposals targets three key areas: strengthening the EU’s clearing system, harmonising insolvency rules across Member States and reducing the burden for companies when it comes to listing on stock exchanges.

Introduction

In 2022, the EU continued to work towards a climate-neutral, green, fair and social Europe, advancing several initiatives previously launched by the European Commission. Despite the external challenges the EU has faced, the commitment to improving education, social rights and working conditions for everyone living in Europe remains a priority; this includes making sure that minimum wages are adequate and improving the quality and affordability of long-term care.

The second European Anti-racism Summit brought EU leaders and grassroots organisations together to consolidate work on equality and non-discrimination. Bringing wider attention to issues of equality culminated in the announcement of the winners of the first European Capitals of Inclusion and Diversity Awards. The inaugural European Employment and Social Rights Forum took place, with discussions focusing on how to achieve a fair and inclusive green transition.

A fair economy for the green and digital transitions

To make sure the transition to a climate-neutral economy and continent is fair for everyone, the EU’s social policies must be aligned with its green and digital priorities. These include reducing poverty and providing active support for employment opportunities, equal access to quality and inclusive education, training and lifelong learning, along with investment in social protection for the most vulnerable.

Member States have committed to raising the employment rate of the population aged 20–64 to at least 78.5%, exceeding the original EU target of at least 78%. They have also committed to at least 57.6% of all adults participating in training every year by 2030, compared to the EU target of at least 60%. Member States have also committed to at least 15.6 million fewer people being at risk of poverty or social exclusion by 2030, exceeding the EU target of at least 15 million.

Support for workers

The European Parliament and the EU Member States reached a political agreement on the directive on adequate minimum wages, which establishes a framework to make sure national minimum wages are fit for purpose – providing a decent quality of life for workers. The new rules will promote collective bargaining on the setting of wages and enhance rthe effective access of workers to minimum-wage protection in the EU.

In addition to that, the Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union came into effect, guaranteeing workers across Europe more stability and allowing them to receive timely and more complete information about the essential aspects of their job, such as their place of work and remuneration.

Helping younger people into work

Support for people in need

An adequate minimum income (cash benefits that act as a social safety net, different from minimum wage) helps ensure that everybody can pay their bills and live a life in dignity. This is particularly important in times of economic downturns, as it helps to cushion drops in household income for people most in need and contributes to sustainable and inclusive growth. While minimum income schemes exist in all Member States, their adequacy, reach and effectiveness in supporting people vary significantly.

In 2022, the Commission presented a proposal for a Council of the European Union recommendation on adequate minimum income to support Member States in modernising their minimum income schemes and making them more effective in lifting people out of poverty, while promoting the labour market integration of those who can work.

A European Year of Youth

Focusing on issues close to young people’s hearts, such as climate change and the environment, employment and mental health, an immersive ‘Voice your Vision’ platform was launched to provide a way for young people to record their messages on the policy areas addressed by the Year of Youth and make their voices heard.

To boost active participation and engagement, a series of youth policy dialogues were launched, allowing young people to debate with members of the College of Commissioners, while youth talks placed young people at centre stage in order to spread new ideas and inspire their peers to play an important role in the process of change.

The European Youth Portal displayed all the opportunities linked to the Year of Youth. It included a section with stories by young journalists, and a youth policy section covering initiatives directly benefiting young people. The European Youth Portal activities map offered over 8 500 activities taking place across Europe and beyond.

Education, skills and lifelong learning

In 2022, Member States reinforced their cooperation under the new strategic framework of the European Education Area and mobilised significant EU funding for the education and training sector. Conceived in 2017, the European Education Area initiative helps Member States work together to build more resilient and inclusive education and training systems. The 2022 progress report on achieving the European Education Area by 2025 takes stock of the implementation of the European Education Area initiatives, policy reforms and progress towards EU-level targets.

In the field of equality, equity, inclusion and gender equality, the Council adopted recommendations on the mobility of young volunteers across the EU, to make volunteering more accessible to those with fewer opportunities. The Council adopted additional recommendations on pathways to school success to reduce early school leaving.

The EU also wanted to empower universities to provide better and more inclusive education and research, with two important milestones in 2022: the communication on a European strategy for universities and the Council recommendation on building bridges for effective European higher education cooperation. The objective was to develop a genuinely European dimension in the higher education sector, built on shared values. Excellence and inclusion are distinctive features of European higher education. Following a call from EU leaders to the Council, the Commission and Member States to strengthen partnerships among universities, the European Universities Initiative now includes 44 alliances involving 340 higher education institutions in 31 countries.

Together with the Member States and stakeholders, the 2022 Council recommendation on a European approach to micro-credentials for lifelong learning and employability will help fill the skills gap by ensuring that EU citizens can take advantage of personalised learning and career pathways throughout their lifetime.

In 2022, the first 11 Erasmus+ teacher academies were launched, consisting of 182 organisations from 23 countries, who will receive a total of €15 million over 3 years to provide teachers with learning opportunities and mobility. Green and digital education are also key in completing the European Education Area.

Further afield, the EU participated in the UN Transforming Education Summit, sending a strong political signal on the need to speed up efforts to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goal on quality education. President von der Leyen was announced as one of five global champions, and the EU led calls to increase global funding for education.

In 2022, the EU and Member States made sure learners of all ages would be able to access the knowledge and skills to live more sustainably and cope with a changing labour market in the digital era. The Council recommendation on learning for the green transition and sustainable development and the European Sustainability Competence Framework, along with the ongoing structured dialogue on digital education and skills, address the EU’s growing skills needs for the green and digital transitions.

Making sure Europe’s workforce is equipped with the right skills is therefore necessary in shifting to a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy. In June, the Council adopted a recommendation to support working-age adults’ training needs. The recommendation proposes the establishment of ‘individual learning accounts’ by Member States to improve access to training and keep workers in employment. The aim is to increase the number of people engaged in training each year.

The Council also adopted a recommendation on ensuring a fair transition towards climate neutrality, inviting Member States to adopt measures that address the employment and social aspects of climate, energy and environmental policies. These measures include a comprehensive policy package on quality, affordable and inclusive education, training and lifelong learning, and equal opportunities.

The European Skills Agenda’s Pact for Skills aims to bring public and private organisations together by facilitating the creation of large-scale skills partnerships and encouraging them to make concrete commitments to upskilling and reskilling adults. In 2022, the pact reached 1 000 members committing to concrete training offers for workers across Europe, gathering pledges to help train 6 million people. In addition, the Erasmus+ programme and other EU programmes provide significant funding for EU-level initiatives and education and training reforms at the national and local levels.

In October, the Commission adopted a proposal designating 2023 the European Year of Skills. With the support of the European Parliament, Member States, and public and private actors, this will revitalise lifelong learning in the EU, helping people get the right skills for quality jobs and allowing companies to address their skill shortages. To further harness the full potential of the European workforce, there will be an added focus on women, young people and those not in education, employment or training.

Stepping up measures for a union of equality

In 2022, the European Commission continued to implement its broad range of equality strategies, touching on gender (including equal pay), anti-racism, anti-Semitism, discrimination against Roma people, the LGBTIQ community and disability rights.

Combating gender-based violence

On International Women’s Day in March 2022, the Commission proposed EU-wide rules to combat violence against women and domestic violence. The proposed directive would criminalise rape based on lack of consent, female genital mutilation and cyber violence, which includes the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, cyberstalking, cyberharassment and cyber incitement to violence or hatred.

The proposed rules strengthen victims’ access to justice and encourage Member States to implement a one-stop shop mechanism, meaning that all support and protection services would be located in the same place.

The rules also state that victims should be able to claim compensation in the course of criminal proceedings. The proposal calls for adequate and specialised protection and support, such as free-of-charge helplines and rape crisis centres, and it provides targeted support for groups that have specific needs or are at risk, including women fleeing armed conflict.

An EU that cares

Everyone has the right to affordable care services: from early childcare and education to long-term home care and community-based services. Participation in early childhood education has a positive impact on a child’s development and helps reduce the risk of social exclusion and poverty throughout their lifetime. Long-term care empowers people who, because of old age, illness or disability, depend on help for daily activities, to maintain their autonomy and live with dignity. However, for many people these services are still not affordable, available or accessible.

In 2022, the European Commission adopted the European Care Strategy. The strategy contributes to the well-being of care recipients, gender equality and social fairness. This ambitious plan aims to reinforce access to affordable, high-quality, long-term care and revises the targets on early childhood education and care set by the Council in Barcelona (Spain) as envisaged under the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan.

Investing in care is important to attract and retain talent in the care sector, which is often characterised by difficult working conditions and low wages, and to address labour shortages and fulfil the sector’s economic and job-creation potential. This investment will also improve women’s participation in the labour market. Since women still bear the main brunt of care responsibilities, with 90 % of the formal care workforce made up of women, and 7.7 million women out of employment because of care responsibilities, an efficient care sector could offset continuing gender inequalities like gender pay and pension gaps.

To address these issues, the Commission is proposing concrete measures to support Member States in increasing access to high-quality and affordable care services, while improving working conditions and the work–life balance for carers.

As of August 2022, all Member States were obliged to start applying the new EU rules on work–life balance.

Introduction

In a year of increasing uncertainty, the EU remained a driving force for multilateralism and led the response to global challenges, pursuing an ambitious neighbourhood policy, showcasing solidarity and developing comprehensive partnerships to secure and promote global peace, stability, democracy and human rights.

United and determined in their response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the ensuing food and energy crises, the EU and its Member States provided humanitarian aid, emergency assistance, and financial, operational and military support to Ukraine (see Chapter 1).

The EU Member States also reaffirmed their commitment to take greater responsibility for European security and defence, in close cooperation with international partners, to protect common interests and values.

Security and defence

To improve the EU’s ability to protect its citizens, values and interests and contribute to international peace and security, the Council adopted a Strategic Compass, which EU leaders endorsed in March 2022. In line with the direction set by the Versailles Declaration, it aims to step up investment, harness innovative and critical technologies and build a more integrated and competitive European defence market. The plan is to increase the EU’s defence budget and improve coordination between Member States as regards capabilities and equipment standardisation.

The cooperation between the EU and NATO continues to constitute an integral pillar of European stability and security. In 2022, two more EU Member States, Finland and Sweden, applied to join NATO, abandoning their long-standing military non-alignment.

The year also saw Denmark join the other 26 Member States in the Common Security and Defence Policy, which further enhanced the EU’s capacity to take a leading role in peacekeeping operations, conflict prevention and the strengthening of international security.

The likely long-lasting effects of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine (see Chapter 1) on European and global security order have called for even closer cooperation with partners such as the UN, NATO, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the African Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Because an uncertain global order requires threat analysis, the Council adopted the EU Strategic Compass. Its strategy and action plan are based on four main pillars: partnership against common threats, rapid and decisive action in times of crisis, investment in capabilities and technologies, and security against threats and protection of EU citizens.

The European Peace Facility provided military equipment and security infrastructure to the Ukrainian armed forces, leaving a decisive mark in support of Ukraine’s defence. This was the first time in its history that the EU has provided lethal equipment to a country to defend itself against an aggression. Via the European Peace Facility, the EU also supported partner countries through assistance measures, such as in Moldova, Mozambique, Niger, Somalia and the Western Balkans countries, and supported the African Union.

The EU also launched the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine to strengthen the capacity of the Ukrainian armed forces to defend Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders and to deter and respond to possible future military offensives by Russia and other potential aggressors.

The EU and its Member States quickly mobilised the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats to ensure vigilance against criminals taking advantage of the ongoing military aggression in Ukraine. An EU Support Hub for Internal Security and Border Management was set up in Moldova.

The EU provided full operational and financial support to the frontline countries (see Chapter 1). The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) is offering support at the EU’s borders with Russia and Ukraine to assist local authorities in dealing with arrivals of large numbers of refugees. The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) is also present on the ground and works closely with all Member States to prevent and counter crimes, such as human trafficking, firearms trafficking, money laundering and labour exploitation.

Neighbourhood policy and enlargement negotiations

Western Balkans and Türkiye

The EU remained committed to the European perspective of the region and opened negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania in July. It also granted candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina in December.

The 2022 Enlargement Package included a detailed overview of the implementation of the €30 billion Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans, as part of the Global Gateway strategy (see below). This aims to reduce the apparent socioeconomic gap between the EU and the region, and improve the region’s energy security.

The European Commission confirmed its recommendation for the abolition of the visa regime for Kosovo (this designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence). Within the framework of EU accession negotiations with Montenegro and Serbia, the EU maintained its regular dialogue with the two countries at both the political and technical levels.

On 6 December, the first EU–Western Balkans Summit was held in Tirana (Albania) and represented an important opportunity to reconfirm the accession perspective of the Western Balkans partners. The Commission announced the Energy Support Package, consisting of €1 billion in grants to help the Western Balkans face the energy crisis and promote its clean energy transition. The summit also welcomed a joint declaration by the EU’s and the Western Balkans’ telecom operators on the future reduction in roaming costs between the EU and the Western Balkans and a commitment on the alignment with EU visa policy.

The EU continued its high-level dialogue with Türkiye in selected areas of common concerns, notably climate change and migration. Intensive engagement on trade also continued.

Eastern Partnership

Following the decision of the European Council in June 2022, the EU granted candidate status to Moldova and Ukraine, and a European perspective to Georgia.

The EU continued to implement its ambitious Economic and Investment Plan, as part of the Global Gateway strategy (see below), across the Eastern Partnership region in order to support small and medium-sized enterprises and the green and digital transitions.

For the eastern partners, the EU is investing €2.3 billion to leverage investments of up to €17 billion across all sectors. This includes digital connectivity projects, such as deploying a fibre-optic cable under the Black Sea and developing high-speed broadband infrastructure. Transport routes for people and goods between the Caucasus region and the EU are also a priority.

The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on energy with Azerbaijan strengthened the EU’s energy security and Azerbaijan’s green transition.

Following the fraudulent presidential elections in Belarus in 2020 and the regime’s involvement in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU increased its sanctions targeting the Belarus regime. However, the EU continues to offer support and solidarity to the people of Belarus, both in the country and in exile.

Southern Neighbourhood

The implementation of the Economic and Investment Plan for the Southern Neighbourhood, as part of the Global Gateway strategy (see below), is well underway, with important projects taking shape in the priority areas of the green transition and climate-change resilience. In 2022, €30 billion was committed for investment in the Southern Neighbourhood, largely in renewable energy infrastructure.

In November, the EU and Egypt stepped up their cooperation on the clean energy transition by signing a memorandum of understanding on a strategic partnership on renewable hydrogen.

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine caused multiple adverse effects in Southern Neighbourhood countries, in particular among those structurally dependent on food imports and suffering from deteriorated socioeconomic conditions already brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Commission supported partner countries’ resilience through programmes addressing issues such as economic recovery, social protection, job creation and agriculture. €225 million of EU support was made available to the Southern Neighbourhood via the Food and Resilience Facility, to mitigate the effects of potential emerging food crises caused by high dependence on food imports disrupted by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine (see ‘Food security’ below).

International partnerships and humanitarian aid

The Global Gateway

In 2022, the EU worked on rolling out its positive and sustainable offer to finance investments, the Global Gateway strategy. Launched in late 2021 to support major investment in hard and soft infrastructure projects, it aims to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors, and strengthen health, education and research systems.

Following a ‘Team Europe’ approach, the EU, its Member States, development banks and financial institutions agreed to contribute to the mobilisation of €300 billion by 2027, to invest in partner countries. The first major Africa–Europe Global Gateway investment package of €150 billion was launched at the EU–African Union Summit in February.

Key investments were made in its first year of implementation to boost digital connectivity through underwater data cables and terrestrial connections between the EU and its partners, to increase renewable energy production with investments in solar plants and wind farms and to increase the access to and manufacturing capacity of vaccines, medicines and health technologies.

With a ‘Team Europe’ approach, the EU and its Member States remain the leading providers of official development assistance worldwide, with €71.6 billion in 2021 (latest available data), representing 41 % of global assistance. Together they also contribute more than half of all global aid to education, supporting the education sector in more than 100 countries around the world. The EU remains at the forefront of efforts towards achieving the UN 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals.

2022 also marked 45 years of EU–ASEAN relations. During the EU–ASEAN Commemorative Summit, the EU and its Member States, in a ‘Team Europe’ approach, announced the mobilisation of €10 billion as part of the Global Gateway, to accelerate infrastructure investments in ASEAN countries. A number of flagship projects were identified in the Indo-Pacific region, such as Team Europe’s Sustainable Connectivity Initiative.

In support of partner countries’ efforts to address the pandemic and its consequences, €53.7 billion had already been mobilised and €47.7 billion disbursed in a ‘Team Europe’ approach by the end of 2021. In 2022, the EU and its Member States continued to lead on international COVID-19 solidarity with 502.2 million vaccine doses shared with partner countries. Of these, 422 million doses were shared through COVAX (1.1 million doses through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism) and 80.2 million doses bilaterally (38 million through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism).

The EU allocated an additional €300 million to speed up the roll-out and uptake of vaccines in several countries, most of them in Africa, and a further €100 million to strengthen health systems and improve access to diagnosis and treatment. To bolster global health capacities, the EU helped create a new international fund for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response and will contribute €427 million to it.

In 2022, the implementation of the Team Europe Initiative on Manufacturing and Access to Vaccines, Medicines and Health Technologies in Africa progressed and an initiative to support similar efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean was announced. This will complement and further enhance social, economic and scientific ties between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean.

The EU has also put forward a strategy to strengthen the partnership between its Member States and the Gulf Cooperation Council in key policy areas, such as energy, the green transition and climate change, trade and economic diversification, regional stability and global security, humanitarian and developmental challenges, and closer people-to-people contacts. The EU is pursuing enhanced cooperation with Arab donors on joint priorities.

Humanitarian aid and civil protection

Over the last 30 years, the EU has helped alleviate the suffering of millions of the most vulnerable people in more than 110 countries. In 2022, the Commission mobilised €2.2 billion of humanitarian aid to help address the most pressing needs of affected populations around the world. One in seven euro of the EU humanitarian aid budget is allocated to ‘forgotten emergencies’, such as the famine in the Sahel region.

The Commission also continued to provide humanitarian funding in support of 4 million refugees in Türkiye, mostly fleeing the war in Syria. A further €50 million came in addition to the €325 million humanitarian aid already announced at the end of 2021 for the Emergency Social Safety Net Programme in Türkiye, bringing the total EU humanitarian funding for Türkiye since 2012 close to €3.4 billion.

The EU chaired the sixth Brussels Conference on ‘Supporting the future of Syria and the region’ on 9 and 10 May 2022, gathering 55 countries and 22 international organisations. The conference, which is the main pledging event for Syria and the region, mobilised aid to Syrians inside the country and in neighbouring countries through pledges totalling over €6.4 billion.

In 2022, a new tool, the European Humanitarian Response Capacity was set up to fill gaps, mainly in logistics, in the humanitarian response to sudden-onset natural hazards and human-induced disasters.

The European Humanitarian Response Capacity initiative will help provide support to humanitarian actors and emergency responders with its stockpiles of shelter non-food items and water, sanitation and hygiene, health and logistical experts and common logistical services, such as the EU Humanitarian Air Bridge, EU humanitarian aid flight routes, last-mile delivery, transport services and warehousing.

EU-funded humanitarian aid operations cover a variety of sectors, including food security, healthcare, shelter and education in emergencies, but also protection services, including against gender-based violence. Aid is provided based on the four fundamental humanitarian principles: humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.

The EU remains firmly committed to promoting compliance with international humanitarian law in order to be able to fulfil its humanitarian aid objectives and improve the security of its humanitarian partners, but violations of international humanitarian law remain a challenge around the world.

Food security

The blockade of Ukrainian exports and destruction of fields for crop production carried significant risks for both food availability and affordability in the EU neighbourhood, in North Africa and the Middle East, but also in Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. This particularly concerned wheat, a basic food staple.

Taking a ‘Team Europe’ approach, the EU pooled resources and expertise with its Member States and financial institutions to address the global food crisis while fully acknowledging the need to work in a multilateral manner in cooperation with international partners.

As part of the response to global food insecurity, the EU mobilised an additional €600 million to support affected African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, and €225 million for North Africa and the Middle East. This brought the estimated total of EU support for global food security and food systems until 2024 to over €8.3 billion.

The EU’s total contribution to global security worldwide is 8.3 billion euro, distributed as follows: globally 1.32 billion euro, Sub-Saharan Africa 3.21 billion euro, Southern Neighbourhood 1.12 billion euro, Asia and the Pacific 1.05 billion euro, Western Balkans and Türkiye 886 million euro, Latin America and the Caribbean 384 million euro and Eastern Neighbourhood 294 million euro.

The EU worked on increasing its food production, facilitating food and feed trade from Ukraine and strengthening local food production. At the request of the Ukrainian agricultural authorities, access to EU markets was preserved and facilitated in a flexible way, for both imports to and exports from Ukrainian markets. The EU-Ukraine solidarity lanes created new logistics routes to connect Ukraine to global trading partners (see Chapter 1).

The EU also supported the UN’s efforts with the Black Sea Grain Initiative in order to facilitate the safe transit of grain and related foodstuffs and fertilisers from Ukrainian Black Sea ports to further distribution ports.

Thanks to these initiatives, from May to December 2022 around 29 million tonnes of agricultural products were exported from Ukraine, according to the information received from the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture. A further €1 billion was mobilised in December to sustain and scale up the EU–Ukraine solidarity lanes.

Trade and technology

New tools

To tackle the problem of other global powers using trade as a weapon, the EU has introduced several new tools. 2022 saw the International Procurement Instrument enter into force, which gives the EU greater leverage to provide companies in the EU with access to public procurement markets outside the EU.

Progress was made in the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on the passage of the Anti-coercion Instrument, which will help the EU to tackle economic coercion, in which a non-EU country seeks to pressure the EU or its Member States into making policy choices. The instrument will give the EU the ability to impose countermeasures in the form of trade, investment or other restrictions.

In addition, the new communication on the power of trade partnerships aims to enhance the contribution of EU trade agreements to advancing sustainable development and protecting the climate, the environment and labour rights worldwide. The new approach includes the use of trade sanctions for breaches of core climate and labour provisions.

Agreements

In June, the EU and New Zealand concluded negotiations for a trade agreement that has the most ambitious sustainability commitments of any EU trade deal so far. It will open new opportunities for European farmers, companies and workers.

Oceans and fisheries

The new World Trade Organization agreement to end harmful fisheries subsidies is a crucial step towards ensuring that fisheries subsidies worldwide make sustainability their central objective and will thus contribute to the protection of the oceans. The agreement bans subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, along with fishing on the unregulated high seas. Also banned are subsidies for overfished stocks with no fisheries management measures in place to rebuild the stock to a healthy level.

In addition, the joint communication on the EU’s International Ocean Governance Agenda proposed measures for safe, secure, clean, healthy and sustainably managed oceans. In line with the agenda, the EU made 52 voluntary commitments worth up to €7 billion – a concrete example of the EU’s role as a global leader in protecting the world’s oceans. The agenda will play an important role in delivering the blue dimension of the European Green Deal. It takes into account key trends, such as the exacerbated impact of climate change, the dangerous decline of biodiversity and the changed geopolitical conditions.

Introduction

In 2022, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission worked closely together not only to respond to emergencies, but also to improve the EU’s lawmaking and deliver even better results for its citizens. Given the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead on the path to a sustainable recovery, it remains crucial to act as efficiently as possible, with the EU’s future in mind. Getting better results for EU citizens by improving EU rules is a shared objective and the responsibility of all EU institutions and Member States.

Major initiatives in 2022

During the year, the institutions made progress on a number of major initiatives. The Council of the European Union adopted the Strategic Compass, an ambitious plan of action for strengthening the EU’s security and defence policy by 2030, and facilitating an agreement among EU leaders on strengthening Europe’s defence industrial base (see Chapter 8).

As regards the green agenda and sustainable and inclusive growth, the European Parliament and the Council reached an agreement on the revision of the EU Emissions Trading System, creation of a Social Climate Fund and implementation of the new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. They also struck a provisional deal to reduce the risk of deforestation and reached a political agreement on corporate sustainability reporting (see Chapter 8).

When it comes to key digital files, a political agreement between the Parliament and the Council allowed for the finalisation of the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, along with new legislation on universal chargers (see Chapter 4).

The Parliament and the Council were also able to reach a political agreement on the Women on Boards Directive, on pay transparency measures and on the directive on adequate minimum wages (see Chapter 7).

The Council steered discussions on the EU’s external relations (see Chapter 8) and hosted the EU–African Union and Western Balkans summits. Moreover, it opened accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania (see Chapter 8). The Parliament and the Council also agreed on key pieces of legislation on distortive foreign subsidies and the International Procurement Instrument.

The presidency of the Council of the European Union rotates between the EU Member States every 6 months. In 2022, the Parliament, the rotating French and Czech Council Presidencies and 2023 incumbents Sweden and Spain joined efforts to advance the interinstitutional negotiations on both the Common European Asylum System and the Pact on Migration and Asylum, and signed a joint roadmap (see Chapter 5).

The European Economic and Social Committee and the European Committee of the Regions provided important and relevant contributions to the Parliament, the Council and the European Commission, including on the 2023 Commission Work Programme, and actively contributed to the final recommendations of the Conference on the Future of Europe.

The European Economic and Social Committee highlighted the economic, social and environmental impact of the military aggression in Ukraine and the European Committee of the Regions adopted the Marseille Manifesto, a call to Europe’s leaders to hear the voices of the million regionally and locally elected politicians across the EU who are committed to bringing Europe closer to its people.

New president of the Parliament

The start of 2022 saw the sad passing of the former President of the European Parliament, David-Maria Sassoli. President Sassoli will be remembered as a true European leader and a champion for democracy. In over a decade of service in the Parliament, he constantly defended the EU and its values, but also believed that Europe had to strive for more: to be more united, closer to its people and more faithful to its values.

In the context of the midterm election process, Roberta Metsola was elected as the new president on 18 January 2022, with an absolute majority of 458 votes out of 690 cast.

Parliament set up three new parliamentary committees: on foreign interference, including disinformation; on lessons drawn from the COVID-19 pandemic; and of inquiry, to look into the use of the Pegasus spyware.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen regularly attended debates, in particular on the preparation of or follow-up to European Council meetings, and for Ukraine-related debates. On 14 September 2022, she delivered the annual State of the Union address, indicating the policy priorities for 2023 and for the second half of the Commission’s mandate.

Focus on citizens

Conference on the Future of Europe

The year-long Conference on the Future of Europe, which gave Europeans the opportunity to have a say on what they expect from the EU, concluded its work in 2022. It was the largest and most far-reaching consultation exercise of its kind, with 5 million individual visitors to the multilingual digital platform, and more than 720 000 participants joining more than 6 600 live events, including the national citizens’ panels and European Citizens’ Panels.

Four European Citizens’ Panels were organised with 200 citizens each, chosen through random selection from all 27 Member States, with careful consideration to include individuals that reflect the EU’s diversity in terms of geographic origin, gender, age, socioeconomic background and level of education. Special attention was given to ensuring that a third of each panel would consist of young people (aged 16–25). The participants discussed their recommendations in the conference plenary sessions where members of civil society, elected representatives from all levels of governance and other stakeholders met to consensually endorse 49 conference proposals, which were subsequently presented to the EU institutions.

On 9 May 2022, the final report containing all proposals and detailing 326 measures was presented to the presidents of the Parliament, the Council and the Commission during the closing ceremony of the conference on Europe Day. The results are structured around the nine conference topics, ranging from climate change and health to European democracy and the digital transformation.

On 17 June, the Commission presented the communication on the Conference on the Future of Europe, assessing the proposals and charting the way forward. In her State of the Union address, President von der Leyen confirmed that the citizens’ panels would become a regular feature of Commission policymaking and outlined new proposals stemming from the conference’s conclusions. Over 80 % of the new initiatives contained in the Commission’s 2023 Work Programme follow up directly or indirectly on the proposals of the conference. On 2 December 2022, the Parliament, the Council and the Commission organised a feedback event to explain to citizens how the institutions are following up on the conference’s proposals.

In December, the Commission hosted the first European Citizens’ Panel on food waste reduction. The reduction of waste, and particularly food waste, is the subject of a legislative proposal included in the Commission’s 2023 Work Programme, in line with the proposals from the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Inspired by the conference, the Commission’s new online interactive tool, the ‘Have your say’ portal, will bring together all information on Commission mechanisms for citizen engagement. This new online hub will integrate key features of the conference’s multilingual digital platform and form the basis for a new system of democratic engagement and innovation.

The consultative committees also played their full role in the conference. On 27 April 2021, the European Economic and Social Committee adopted a resolution on the conference, A New Narrative for Europe, and organised 75 events across Europe, 45 of which alone gathered more than 7 600 participants. The document Organised Civil Society’s Vision for the Future of Europe presents the results of those consultations, detailing recommendations and ideas that fed into the 326 final proposals adopted by the conference.

The European Committee of the Regions organised more than 120 local and cross-border citizens’ dialogues and the ideas and recommendations from these were uploaded to the platform. Its High-Level Group on European Democracy adopted its final report on democracy in the EU as part of the contribution of local and regional authorities to the conference.

European Citizens’ Initiative

2022 also marked the 10th anniversary of the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI). The Commission celebrated this important milestone throughout the year, together with interinstitutional partners, organisers of initiatives and multipliers. Bringing information about the ECI closer to citizens was a primary focus of the year, with events and promotional actions around Europe Day or at the annual ECI Day held on 2 June at the European Economic and Social Committee.

The seventh successful initiative, ‘Save bees and farmers! Towards a bee-friendly agriculture for a healthy environment’, was submitted to the Commission for examination in 2022. Two other initiatives collected more than 1 million signatures each: ‘Stop Finning – Stop the trade’ and ‘Save cruelty-free cosmetics – Commit to a Europe without animal testing’. The Commission will reply to these three initiatives in 2023.

In 2022, the Commission also registered 10 new initiatives, calling for EU action in various fields, such as sports, education, the garment sector, green energy, animal protection, rural policy and a tobacco-free environment.

Working in times of crises

In 2022, the EU institutions once again demonstrated great resilience in dealing with unforeseen emergencies. Just as the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic was under way, Russia started its unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine. The EU institutions worked tirelessly to support the Ukrainian people in their fight for freedom and to help citizens and businesses in the Member States deal with the consequences of the war.

On 1 March 2022, Parliament held an extraordinary plenary session, during which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed Members live from Kyiv (Ukraine). He stressed that Ukrainians ‘were fighting for their rights, freedoms and lives, as well as to be equal members of Europe’. European Council President Charles Michel, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell also participated in the debate. Parliament expressed unwavering support for Ukraine and called for sanctions on Russia and for new efforts to grant Ukraine EU candidate-country status.

Subsequently, Parliament held regular Ukraine-specific plenary debates and adopted 16 resolutions. The Chairman of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament), Ruslan Stefanchuk, participated in person in the June 2022 plenary session. Meanwhile, Ukrainian ministers and high-level officials frequently participated in various parliamentary committee meetings and had discussions with Members of Parliament regarding the latest developments on the ground.

France and Czechia held the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Council sought to provide a strong and united response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the resulting food and energy crisis. Under the guidance of the European Council, it oversaw the deployment of unprecedented measures and large amounts of assistance to Ukraine.

The Commission took wide-ranging action in support of Ukraine across all areas throughout the year and adopted in 2022 more than 200 measures in response to the invasion. A significant number of these decisions relate to ensuring that the EU provides the necessary humanitarian assistance and financial support to Ukraine and helps the Member States welcome Ukrainians fleeing the war and deal with the economic consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine (see Chapter 1). It also made a number of proposals to revise its energy policy to reduce the EU’s dependency on Russian fossil fuels (see Chapter 2).

Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression against Ukraine and its people constitutes a direct challenge to EU values and the rules-based world order. The 2022 annual Rule of Law Report placed particular emphasis on the importance of upholding democratic values, human rights and the rule of law. For the first time, the report contained specific recommendations addressed to each Member State to help identify where improvements are needed and encourage the necessary reforms.

The Commission continued exercising its role as guardian of the treaties, taking 1 410 decisions on infringement procedures to enforce EU law. Respect for the rule of law is also key for the sound financial management of the EU budget and the effective use of its funding. In December 2022, the Council adopted budget protection measures under the conditionality regulation against breaches of the principle of the rule of law in Hungary.

The Commission and the European Court of Auditors continued their constructive cooperation as the EU’s executive and audit powers, respectively. At their annual meeting in July, members discussed how the EU budget contributes to the achievement of the European Union’s political priorities, delivers concrete results for citizens and adds value to action taken by Member States.

While dealing with the crises, the Commission continued its work to ensure transparent and efficient decision-making through its Better Regulation agenda. This means that its proposals are based on solid evidence, informed by extensive consultations through the ‘Have your say’ portal and reviewed by an independent oversight body, the Regulatory Scrutiny Board. The Commission’s Better Regulation framework is ranked top by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in its EU report on measuring regulatory performance.

In 2022, the Commission started the full implementation of the ‘one in, one out’ approach, which ensures that any newly introduced burdens are offset by removing equivalent burdens in the same policy area. The approach focuses on the impacts of costs of Commission proposals on citizens and businesses and complements the Commission’s regulatory fitness and performance programme (REFIT). Under REFIT, the Commission makes systematic efforts to identify and remove red tape and unnecessary costs, while achieving policy objectives whenever EU legislation is revised and evaluated. A high-level expert group, the Fit for Future Platform, supported this work with the adoption of 10 opinions, providing recommendations on how to simplify EU laws and make them more efficient. The Commission also worked to ensure that the Better Regulation addresses and supports sustainability goals and the digital transformation.

Strategic foresight

The Commission’s 2022 Strategic Foresight Report focused on the interplay between the green and digital transitions in the new rapidly evolving geopolitical context. The Commission also continued the analysis of the key megatrends affecting the future, such as migration, climate change, digitalisation and inequalities. Cooperation with Member States, through the EU-wide Foresight Network, which includes the Ministers for the Future, was further developed.