The European Council will meet in Brussels later this week on 20 and 21 October.
Before turning to that meeting, I will briefly update the House on the first meeting of the European Political Community, which took place in Prague on 6 October, and on the informal meeting of the European Council that took place the following day.
The first meeting of the European Political Community on 6 October was a welcome development in wider European political engagement. It was hosted by the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Dr. Petr Fiala, with the support of the President of the European Council, Mr. Charles Michel.
Forty-four states were invited to participate, including all 27 EU member states; the European Free Trade Agreement partner countries - Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein; the UK; Türkiye; the six Western Balkan countries - Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo; and five of the six Eastern Partnership countries - Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Ukraine. No invitation was extended to Belarus, given its ongoing facilitation of Russia's illegal and immoral war against Ukraine by permitting Russian armed forces to use its territory and by providing support to the Russian military.
During the opening plenary session, interventions were made by the Prime Minister, Dr. Fiala, the President of Ukraine, Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskyy via video conference, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Ms Liz Truss, the Prime Minister of Norway, Mr. Jonas Gahr Støre, and the Prime Minister of Albania, Mr. Edi Rama, on the opportunities presented by this new format for political dialogue and co-ordination. The meeting achieved its primary aim of bringing together leaders from across the continent of Europe to recognise the considerable degree of common cause among us. The formal agenda included Ukraine, energy and the European economy. It was notable also for the welcome agreement reached in the margins with Armenia and Azerbaijan to accept a civilian EU mission alongside their border.
The formation of a European Political Community, an idea originating with President Macron, was discussed by EU leaders at the June European Council. There was broad agreement that there would be a value in a pan-continental political forum in which geopolitical challenges could be discussed candidly among leaders from the entire European neighbourhood. I believe that its inaugural meeting demonstrated that it has a value and that it will neither cut across the process of EU enlargement as some had feared nor interfere with the important work of other pan-European bodies, such as the Council of Europe and the OECD. Before leaving Prague, leaders agreed to meet again in the same format in the first half of next year in Moldova, and to meetings thereafter, in the second half of the year in Spain and in the UK in the first half of 2023.
While I was at the European Political Community meeting, I participated in a round-table discussion on energy, climate and the economy co-chaired by the Greek Prime Minister, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and the President of the Swiss Federation. Common themes in the discussion included immediate-term pressures on energy costs for citizens and businesses in all of our countries, and the need for greater interconnection and an accelerated move to renewables as soon as practicable to ensure stable and secure pricing and supply on an ongoing basis.
The meeting also offered welcome opportunities to meet with leaders from the wider European family. I was pleased to have bilateral meetings with Ukraine, Albania and Bosnia. The Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mr. Denys Shmyhal, once again expressed his heartfelt gratitude for Ireland's support for his government and people, as they continue to withstand Russian aggression. He expressed his appreciation that Ireland continues to be to the forefront of advocating for Ukraine's membership of the EU, for the toughest possible sanctions against Russia and for holding Russia accountable, and that we are hosting more than 52,000 Ukrainian people in need of protection. I assured him of our continued support at this time of terrible need and trauma in Ukraine.
I also met with two of our partners in the Western Balkans - the Prime Minister of Albania, Mr. Edi Rama, and the Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In both meetings, I expressed my support for them on their EU accession pathway.
The members of the European Council held an informal meeting on 7 October. Our discussion was a strategic one covering the topics of Ukraine, energy and economic issues to inform and prepare for our regular meeting later this week.
The formal agenda for this week's European Council covers Ukraine, energy, economic issues and external relations. The Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, will address external relations issues in his remarks later. I will address all other issues.
Leaders will discuss Russia's escalating war of aggression against Ukraine. I expect leaders to send a strong message that the EU will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. This week, the Council will discuss in particular how to continue to provide strong political, military and financial support to Ukraine, including for its liquidity needs, and how to step up our humanitarian response, in particular, as winter is approaching. This week's meeting takes place against the backdrop of the despicable recent indiscriminate missile attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Kyiv and across Ukraine. It is also in the context of Russia's recent illegal annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. As in the case of Crimea, we will never recognise these illegal annexations.
The adoption of the eighth sanctions package on 6 October was very welcome. Ireland has consistently supported imposing the strongest possible sanctions on Russia and we will continue to do so. Ireland is also contributing to non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine via the European Peace Facility, which adopted its sixth tranche this week. Even as war rages across Ukraine, life continues in cities and villages, farms, small businesses and public services across the country. Ukraine faces challenges now in terms of immediate liquidity needs to ensure that basic state functions can continue to support the millions of Ukrainians at home. I will discuss with fellow EU leaders the importance of agreeing quickly mechanisms to provide the liquidity support that we have agreed in principle to Ukraine without delay.
When we meet this week, we will have an opportunity also to discuss EU support for Ukraine's reconstruction, which requires planning now and which will require a wider international partnership led by Ukraine with suitable governance structures. Later this month, a conference hosted by the European Commission and the German G7 Presidency in Berlin will examine these issues in further detail.
Leaders will also discuss the impact of Russia's war on global food security. Russia's war has sparked a global food crisis causing disruptions to agricultural production, supply chains and trade that have driven world food and fertiliser prices to unprecedented levels. The duration of the UN Black Sea grain initiative, which has been successful in ensuring the export of much-needed grain from Ukraine, is due to end next month. I will join fellow leaders in calling for it to be extended beyond that time limit.
As we see a continued uptick in hybrid attacks, EU leaders will also discuss how to ensure the security of critical infrastructure. Deliberate acts of sabotage, such as those against the Nord Stream pipelines, need to be met with a united and determined response.
At this week's meeting, EU leaders will further discuss energy issues, especially pricing and supply, which remain at the top of the European political agenda. The issue was central to discussions at the informal meeting of the European Council in Prague. The EU has since the illegal invasion of Ukraine taken significant measures in response to the use of energy as a weapon by Russia, both to underpin security of supply and to mitigate the impact of the dramatic prices increases we have seen for businesses and consumers. These measures include: action to attract new supplies to support diversification away from Russian gas; a gas storage regulation to prepare the EU for a difficult winter; a gas demand regulation to seek to better balance supply and demand for gas; and a regulation on an emergency intervention to address high energy prices.
The last of these - the emergency regulation - was adopted by the Council on 6 October and will enter into force on 1 December. It provides for: a voluntary 10% electricity demand reduction over the winter, with a 5% reduction obligation during peak hours; a cap on the revenue of electricity producers using inframarginal sources such as renewables and nuclear; and a solidarity contribution from fossil fuel profits.
The EU also adopted a temporary crisis framework on state aid to provide greater space for governments to support businesses affected by the economic consequences of the war, including those resulting from high energy prices. As a result of these and other measures, we have seen a significant diversification away from Russian fossil fuels and towards more reliable suppliers, including Norway, the UK and the US. Gas storage for the winter ahead across the EU now stands at more than 90%, with the targeted levels reached ahead of schedule.
Nonetheless when European Union leaders met in Prague there was a clear view that more can and should be done at European Union level. In advance of that meeting, President von der Leyen set out a roadmap of actions. These include stepping up negotiations with reliable suppliers to reduce the price of imported gas, working with member states to develop an intervention to limit prices in the natural gas market, supporting a discussion aimed at limiting the inflationary impact of gas on electricity prices, and boosting investment to accelerate the green transition.
Building on last week's discussions, and to inform our meeting this week, the European Commission yesterday published a communication on the energy emergency as well as an emergency regulation. This is aimed at mitigating the impacts of high gas prices by addressing demand and supply, ensuring security of supply and enhancing solidarity. The proposed package includes measures to facilitate joint purchase of gas using the EU's strength to ensure the best possible price, in particular to support the filling of gas storage next year. It also includes provisions to increase solidarity and security of supply and measures aimed at dampening energy prices including development of a new benchmark for trading LNG in particular, and working with member states to develop ways to limit the impact of high gas prices on electricity. Flanking measures being proposed include extension of the temporary crisis framework, making the cohesion framework policy more flexible and accelerating the transition to sustainable sources through RePowerEU. Leaders will discuss these proposals this week, with detailed work to be taken forward by energy Ministers.
As I have seen in my discussions with partners, these issues are complex and technical and need careful consideration, including to avoid unintended adverse consequences. Any step we take must help us to reduce prices without risking security of supply. Measures also need to take into consideration the very different situations in member states as well as their very different energy sources and mixes.
In parallel with short-term actions, we need to accelerate the green transition and step up investments in future-ready energy infrastructure, including interconnections and innovative renewable technologies, to enhance our energy security and to meet our climate ambitions. The European Commission will also speed up work on the structural reform of the electricity market to ensure it is fit for purpose in the future.
As we have seen in recent months and weeks, Putin is prepared to use all means at his disposal, including disrupting international energy markets, to pursue his immoral war in Ukraine. EU leaders have been clear that he will not succeed. We will continue to stand in solidarity with Ukraine and with each other as we approach what may be a very difficult winter. The European Council will also take stock of the economic situation more generally, which is dominated by the significant ramifications of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which is pushing rising inflation to multi-decade highs.
As the IMF highlighted last week in its latest World Economic Outlook, global economic activity is experiencing a broad-based and sharper than expected slowdown. Global growth is forecast to slow from 6% in 2021 to 3.2% in 2022 and 2.7% in 2023. This is one of the weakest growth profiles in recent times. The 2023 slowdown is also expected to be broad-based, with countries accounting for about one third of the global economy poised to contract this year or next. Our immediate priority must be to protect households, jobs and businesses, in particular the most vulnerable in our societies, while preserving the European Union's global competitiveness and the integrity of our Single Market. In this context, I welcome the statement agreed by the Eurogroup finance ministers on 3 October on the fiscal policy response to high energy prices and inflationary pressures as well as their historic meeting with US Treasury Secretary Yellen in Washington on 14 October.
As I said, the Minister of State, Deputy Thomas Byrne, will address the external relations issues on the agenda in his wrap-up statement. This week's meeting of EU leaders will be an opportunity to take stock of the situation in Ukraine and the wider geopolitical context. It will also be an important opportunity to discuss the energy challenges we face and their impact on our citizens as we face into the winter. I will report to the House on our discussions after the meeting.