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European Council
Council of the European Union
Preliminary remarks on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine
G20 leaders met for a two-day summit hosted by the Indonesian G20 presidency in Bali, under the theme ‘Recover Together, Recover Stronger’.
Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, represented the EU.
This G20 takes place in a very different world from our meeting last year in Rome. Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a member of G20, is attacking the free and sovereign nation of Ukraine.
Leaders issued a common declaration at the end of the summit.
We met in Bali (…) at a time of unparalleled multidimensional crises. We have experienced the devastation brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, and other challenges including climate change, which has caused economic downturn, increased poverty, slowed global recovery, and hindered the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Preliminary remarks by President Charles Michel
Leaders discussed the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine on the global economy.
They reiterated their national positions as expressed in other fora, including the UN Security Council, and the UN General Assembly resolution deploring in the strongest terms the aggression by Russia against Ukraine and demanding its complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine.
Leaders are deeply concerned by the challenges to global food security exacerbated by current conflicts and tensions.
We are committed to taking urgent actions to save lives, prevent hunger and malnutrition, particularly to address the vulnerabilities of developing countries, and call for an accelerated transformation towards sustainable and resilient agriculture and food systems and supply chains.
Infographic – How the Russian invasion of Ukraine has further aggravated the global food crisis
They support the international efforts to keep food supply chains functioning under challenging circumstances and welcomed the Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye to open a safe maritime humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea.
At a time of climate and energy crises, leaders underlined the urgency to:
They stressed the importance of ensuring that global energy demand is matched by affordable energy supplies.
As G20, we have the collective power, but also the collective responsibility, to help make sure the world has sustainable, secure and affordable energy for all.
Infographic – Climate change costs lives and money
Leaders reaffirmed their steadfast commitments to tackle climate change by strengthening the full and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and its temperature goal.
They welcomed the progress to date towards achieving a Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and will step up efforts to:
Leaders recalled and further urged developed countries to fulfil their commitments to deliver on the goal of jointly mobilising USD 100 billion per year by 2020 and up to 2025.
We acknowledge the urgent need to strengthen policies and mobilise financing, from all sources in a predictable, adequate and timely manner to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation including significantly increasing support for developing countries.
Leaders also expressed their continuous commitment to promoting a healthy and sustainable recovery which builds towards achieving and sustaining universal health coverage.
They welcomed the establishment of a new financial intermediary fund for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (the ‘Pandemic Fund’) hosted by the World Bank.
Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen global health governance, with the leading and coordination role of WHO and support from other international organisations.
They recognised that the extensive COVID-19 immunisation is a global public good.
We will advance our effort to ensure timely, equitable and universal access to safe, affordable, quality and effective vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.
Leaders recognised the importance of digital transformation in reaching the sustainable development goals.
We will advance a more inclusive, human-centric, empowering, and sustainable digital transformation.
They encouraged international collaboration to further develop digital skills and digital literacy to harness the positive impacts of digital transformation, especially for women, girls, and people in vulnerable situations.
They also acknowledged the importance of countering disinformation campaigns, cyber threats, online abuse, and ensuring security in connectivity infrastructure.
Leaders found digital technology becomes the key for recovery in various sectors by:
Leaders committed to mitigate scarring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to support strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.
We will stay agile and flexible in their fiscal policy response, standing ready to adjust to the changing circumstances as needed.
Leaders remain committed to a human-centered, inclusive, fair, sustainable approach that leads to greater social justice, decent work, and social protection for all. This includes:
The leaders of Canada, the European Council, the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States met in the margins of the G20 Summit in Bali. They condemned the barbaric missile attacks that Russia perpetrated on Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure on Tuesday 15 November.
They also discussed the explosion that took place in the eastern part of Poland near the border with Ukraine. They offered their full support for and assistance with Poland’s ongoing investigation.
President Michel and President von der Leyen also participated in the second EU-Australia leaders’ meeting with Anthony Albanese, Prime Minister of Australia.
The leaders reaffirmed their strong commitment to their shared values, in particular democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and a rules-based multilateral order.
They also took part in an informal discussion on fertilisers/food and security hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.
I am convinced that we can and we should support developing countries to produce their own sustainable fertilisers locally, like we did with COVID vaccines.
Indonesia holds the G20 presidency from 1 December 2021 to 30 November 2022.
During its presidency, Indonesia has focused on the global COVID-19 pandemic and how to collectively overcome the challenges related to it.
The three priorities of Indonesia’s G20 presidency:
The G20 is an intergovernmental forum that connects the world’s major economies
G20 members include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.
Spain is also invited as a permanent guest.
The previous G20 summit, in 2021, was hosted by the Italian G20 presidency in Rome. Following the summit, the G20 leaders adopted a declaration in which they agreed to further strengthen a common response to the global COVID-19 pandemic and pave the way for a global recovery.
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