Remarks by President Charles Michel before the European Council meeting on 21 October 2021

Met dank overgenomen van Europese Raad i, gepubliceerd op donderdag 21 oktober 2021.

We have a very important European Council today and tomorrow. This afternoon we will address the energy topic. It’s important for member states to coordinate and cooperate to see what measures can be taken at the national level. On the other hand, we’d like to identify what measures can be developed at the European level. We’ll work in close contact with the Commission, based on the communication that was put on the table.

We’ll also have the occasion to address the Covid-19 situation. We remain vigilant and we are observing progress, in which vaccinations have played an important role. We need to make sure that we can continue to make progress. In countries in Europe and outside of Europe, vaccine hesitancy is an obstacle and we need to prepare and coordinate to address this challenge.

This afternoon we will touch upon the rule of law. We are firm on the principles of the rule of law. We have legal and institutional tools we should use. But we should also be committed to dialogue.

Tonight during the informal dinner, we will address the international topics. We will prepare the next Eastern Partnership summit in December, as well as the next ASEM meeting and the COP26 and COP15. Tonight, other important topics will be discussed, like trade. We will issue informal conclusions during the informal dinner.

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