EC Briefing — Tuesday, 12 May 2026

Key Points

• The college will adopt three proposals to simplify Europe-wide travel booking for passengers tomorrow.
• A new global health resilience initiative communication will be presented by Commissioner Sikela following tomorrow's college meeting.
• Commissioners will adopt a communication responding to a citizens initiative for a ban on conversion practices in the EU.
• Defence ministers are discussing military support for Ukraine and security impacts from the Middle East today in Brussels.
• An informal meeting on housing in Cyprus will address regulatory obstacles and investment mobilization in the housing sector.
• The commission has sent a letter to Taliban authorities to discuss technical-level contacts on returns of security threat individuals.

Full Transcript

Transcribed automatically from EbS (Europe by Satellite) · English audio track · AI-generated · May contain errors · Verify before quoting

Opening Statement

Good afternoon and welcome to our midday briefing. We have a couple of announcements for you before we take your questions. Starting with the college meeting of tomorrow, following the meeting yesterday of the Heads of Cabinet, we can announce that the college is due to adopt tomorrow three proposals for regulations simplifying Europe-wide travel booking for passengers, so should be good news for us all as consumers of public transport. The Executive Vice President Fito and Commissioner Vitsas-Kostas will present this package in our press room here tomorrow after the college meeting, and we'll also do the readout. And already this afternoon, you will be able to learn more about this package. We are offering a technical briefing to take place under embargo so that it helps you prepare your reporting. Tomorrow, the commissioners are also expected to adopt a communication on a new global health resilience initiative, which Commissioner Sikela will present in the press room following the readout. And finally, the commissioners will adopt a communication responding to a European citizens initiative calling for a ban on conversion practices in the European Union, and it will be Commissioner Lahbib who will present this communication at the VIP corner at 2.30 tomorrow. As always, we will follow up with the details of these events via our usual channels. And switching to French now, I'd just like to remind you about three council meetings taking place today. First of all, the defence ministers are meeting here in Brussels, and High Representative Callas is chairing that meeting, and the commission is represented by Commissioner Koubilias. The ministers will receive a presentation on threat analysis at EU level, and they'll be debating military support from the EU to Ukraine following an informal exchange of views via video conference with the Ukrainian Defence Minister Mihailo Fedorov, together with the Deputy Secretary General of NATO, Radmila Shekerinska. And the ministers will also be discussing the situation in the Middle East and the impact of that on security and defence in the European Union, and they'll also be discussing the EU's preparedness regarding defence, with the emphasis on implementation. And this exchange of views will be preceded by an informal meeting with Michael Johansson, the President of the European Association of Aerospace Security and Defence Industries. And a conference to press with High Representative Callas will take place at around 5 p.m. And secondly, the Culture and Sport Council is also taking place here in Brussels, and the commission is represented there by Commissioner Michalev. The Agora EU and also Russia's return to the Biennale International Art Exhibition. Those are among the items that will be discussed, and the ministers will also have an exchange of views on active ageing through sport and also on mental health in sport. And a press conference with Commissioner Mikhalev will follow that meeting at around 5.45. And finally, there's an informal meeting on housing taking place in Nicosia, in Cyprus, and Commissioner Jorgensen is representing the commission there. And during that meeting, the ministers will discuss administrative obstacles and regulatory obstacles, which are holding up the construction and renovation of housing in the member states. And they'll also be discussing how to mobilize investment in the housing sector in order to harness the sector's potential. And there, too, there's going to be a press conference with Commissioner Jorgensen following that meeting, and that will be around 2 p.m. this afternoon. So, for any questions related to those councils, we would invite you to keep those for the different specific press conferences following those meetings. So, that's it for the announcements. So, we can move on to your questions now. Yes, go ahead.

Q (AFP): Hi, Camille Condustri from AFP. I think my question is for Marcus. Some sources told us last night that the commission would be sending very soon an invitation letter to a Taliban delegation to have them over in Brussels and discuss returns. I was just wondering if that letter has since been sent to whom, and what does it say? Thanks.

Spokesperson: Thank you very much, Camille, for the question. I can confirm that DG Home, together with the Swedish Ministry of Justice, have sent a letter to the de facto authorities in Afghanistan to inquire about the availability for a meeting at technical level here in Brussels. So, this would be a follow-up meeting to a technical meeting in Afghanistan that has already taken place in January this year. These technical-level contacts come in response to an initiative by 20 member states and Schengen-associated countries in October last year, an initiative that was by way of a letter. And in this letter, member states asked the commission to coordinate such technical contacts on returns. And ministers also underlined in this letter that what they want to focus on is the return of persons who, of course, have no right to stay in the Union and who pose a security threat. So, this is mainly about persons who pose a security threat. So, this is the initiative by member states that the commission is now following up on. So, to sum up, this is nothing new. Member states have asked us to coordinate technical-level contacts on return. We have done so since January this year. Following a technical-level meeting in Afghanistan, we are now looking into the possibility of a potential follow-up here in Brussels. And again, important to mention, we're speaking here about persons who pose a security threat. These are the persons that member states want to return.

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