Bulgarian Minister for the Presidency Lilyana Pavlova signs key EU legislation to ensure its timely entry into force - Main contents

Lilyana Pavlova, Minister for the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU, and Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament, today signed four key pieces of EU legislation to make possible its timely entry into force. Following the signature, the EU will be able to take further action towards strengthening security, moving forward towards completing the Capital Markets Union and implementing the provisions of the Paris Climate Agreement. All these issues are among the priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency.

"Today we are moving to address EU concerns in the area of migration, make sure that consumers are better protected when they choose insurance products, and deliver on the EU’s commitment to fight climate change and improve air quality. All these are priority areas for the EU and I am glad that as policy-makers we are successfully delivering on our commitment to act in these domains, for the benefit of our citizens and businesses and for the good of our planet",

Pavlova said following the signing ceremony.

The legislation signed today will enable the European Investment Bank (EIB) to proceed with lending a further €5.3 billion euro, of which €3.7 billion will be used to address the root causes of migration. The Member States and the insurance industry will have more time to prepare for the application of new rules on insurance distribution. The EU will be taking a step towards achieving its target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 % by 2030 thanks to the post-2020 reform of the EU emissions trading system (ETS).

Negotiations on the final texts of the legislative acts were concluded under the Estonian Presidency of the Council in the second half of 2017. The signature marks the final stage of the EU’s decision-making process, which starts with legislative proposals by the Commission and proceeds via consultations with the European Parliament and the Council.

The event was attendet by rapporteur Julie Girling ("Emission trading scheme"), rapporteur Eider Gardiazabal Rubial ("Guarantee Fund for external actions" and "EU guarantee to the European Investment Bank") and BUDG chair Jean Arthuis, rapporteur Werner Langen ("Date of application of Member States' transposition measures") and ECON chair Roberto Gualtieri.

More information about the legislative acts signed today is available here, here and here.

An overview of the Bulgarian Presidency priorities is available here.

Pictures and videos from the signing ceremony can be found here.