In 2023, the European Union will have to face at least three challenges: that of resilience, that of power and that of performance, writes Jean-Dominique Giuliani, who stresses that traditional European policies are being called into question.

In response to the economic and social consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, the European Union has introduced a €672.5 billion recovery fund. On 12 December, the Commission gave a positive assessment of the revised Luxembourg plan. On 16 December, it paid €1.4 billion to Bulgaria and €700 million to Croatia, and the Council adopted Hungary's plan. The Foundation offers you an interactive map of the plans country by country, to know the amounts and the timetable.

EU leaders meeting on 15 December agreed to step up aid to Ukraine, support efforts to prosecute Russian war crimes and continue sanctions against Russia. They adopted conclusions on economic resilience and the development of security and defence capabilities. They discussed the situation in Iran. They approved the decision to grant Bosnia and Herzegovina the status of candidate country to the European Union.

The Foreign Ministers discussed developments in Ukraine and the new package of sanctions against Russia on 12 December. They also adopted new sanctions against Iran in response to the repression of demonstrations and its military cooperation with Russia. They agreed to deploy a new team to Armenia from 20 December to help plan a possible civilian mission. They agreed on a €2 billion increase in the financial ceiling of the European Peace Facility for 2023. The ninth package of sanctions against Russia was adopted on 16 December, which includes 141 additional individuals and 217 entities.

The Commission adopted on 12 December €220 million for border management and refugee assistance in Turkey, bringing the total for 2022 to €1.2 billion. Within this total, €400 million is earmarked for the basic needs of refugees, €234 million for refugee employment projects, and €381 million for assistance to the most vulnerable refugees. In addition, €220 million will be dedicated to support new controls on Turkey's eastern border.

In a debate in Parliament on 13 December, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob stressed the importance of European unity, cooperation and solidarity in the face of today's challenges, especially in the areas of green transition and energy policy. He noted the need for a European framework to tackle high energy prices. He supported the granting of candidate status to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the stabilisation of the Western Balkans.

Member States' ambassadors agreed on 12 December to suspend the payment of €6.3 billion of cohesion funds to Hungary. This is the first application of the budgetary conditionality mechanism linked to the rule of law. At the same time, they approved Hungary's €5.8 billion recovery plan. The funds will only be disbursed if Hungary achieves 27 rule of law related targets.

The Council and the Parliament reached an agreement on 14 December to create a collaboration platform for joint investigation teams between European countries covering operations against fraud, money laundering, drug and human trafficking. The aim is to facilitate the exchange and centralised storage of operational information as well as evidence to improve the fight against criminal networks and security within the European Union.

The Foreign Ministers of the Eastern Partnership countries, with the exception of Belarus, confirmed the EU's commitment to the Eastern Partnership and its willingness to make it more flexible and responsive to the needs of the various partners. The EU Ministers suggested strengthening cooperation in the field of cyber security.

The European Central Bank announced on 15 December that it was raising its key rates by 50 basis points to 2.5%. Christine Lagarde told a press conference that they would have to increase at a steady pace to ensure a rapid return to the 2% inflation target. According to current estimates, average inflation is expected to reach 8.4% in 2022 before returning to 6.3% in 2023.

On 13 December, the Ariane 5 rocket successfully completed its last launch from the Kourou base, placing the MTG-I1 meteorological satellite and the Galaxy 35 and Galaxy 36 telecommunications satellites into orbit. On 16 December, the SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) satellite, designed to study the topography of the oceans and continental surface waters, was put into orbit.

The Council and the Parliament reached agreement on 13 December on the establishment of a European carbon adjustment mechanism at the borders, which aims to align the carbon price of imported and domestic products in the framework of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). On 18 December, they agreed on a reform of the functioning of the ETS, which will also be extended to the maritime sector.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (Social Democratic Party) unveiled her new government on 15 December, following her victory in the 1 November parliamentary elections. The new coalition brings together the Social Democrats, the Moderate Party led by former Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, and the Venstre Party (liberal right). It has 23 ministers, including 8 women. Lars Lokke Rasmussen has been appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, leader of Venstre, has been appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence.

Leo Varadkar, leader of the Fine Gael party, succeeded Micheál Martin (Fianna Fáil) as Taoiseach (Prime Minister) in Ireland on 17 December, as foreseen in the coalition agreement signed in June 2022. Leo Varadkar previously held this position from 2017 to 2020. He presented his new government, which comprises 17 ministers, including 5 women. Michael Martin was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence.

The Slovak government lost a no-confidence vote in the National Council (parliament) on 15 December by 78 votes out of 150, initiated by the Freedom and Solidarity party (Sloboda a Solidarita, SaS), which left the coalition after unsuccessfully calling for the resignation of Finance Minister Igor Matovič. There are three scenarios: the parties can try to find a new majority, the president, Zuzana Čaputová, can appoint a caretaker government or she can call new elections.

On 15 December, the Swedish government presented the priorities of its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which begins on 1 January. It will focus on four issues: security, in particular aid to Ukraine, EU membership and reconstruction, resilience through European competitiveness, prosperity through an energy and ecological transition, and democratic values and the rule of law.

The Council and the Parliament agreed on 14 December on visa-free travel for persons holding passports issued in Kosovo. Holders of this passport will then be able to travel to the EU without a visa for a stay of 90 days over a period of 180 days.

On 6 December, the Committee of the Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence adopted recommendations to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Romania and Switzerland. These recommendations aim to ensure the implementation of provisions of the Istanbul Convention where the Committee considers that urgent action is needed.

The European Court of Auditors published a report on 14 December on the €100 billion temporary SURE instrument, which was set up to reduce the risk of unemployment during the Covid-19 pandemic. Millions of people benefited from the funding, but the lack of complete data at Member State level limits the Commission's ability to assess the number of jobs saved. It calls on the Commission to better evaluate the instrument to ensure an adequate response to future crises.

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