Commission publishes 2020 General Report on the activities of the European Union

The Commission has published the 2020 edition of the EU General Report, a year marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report details the EU's concerted response to the health and economic crisis, explaining the actions taken in Europe and across the world. Over 1,350 measures were adopted to mitigate the crisis, and protect lives and livelihoods. The EU budget was mobilised to its fullest to provide direct financial support to Member States in need, and through the SURE initiative, more than €90 billion of financial support was approved in 2020 to preserve jobs and support families. The EU agreed a reinforced long-term budget for 2021-2027, as well as NextGenerationEU, the temporary recovery instrument of €750bn. Together, they form the largest stimulus package ever financed through the EU budget, of €1.8 trillion. In 2020, the EU rallied world leaders via the Coronavirus Global Response, the global action for universal access to affordable coronavirus vaccination, treatment and testing, strengthening health systems and supporting the global economic recovery.

Almost €16bn in pledges were raised. The Commission concluded agreements with six companies to secure a wide range of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines for EU citizens, and vaccinations started before the end of 2020. In parallel, the Commission showed its solidarity with global partners by contributing to the COVAX Facility for equitable access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines. Together with the EU member states and the European Investment Bank, Team Europe has so far allocated more than €2.2bn to COVAX, making the EU its biggest donor from the start. The Report also shows how the EU delivered on its key political priorities in 2020, including progress towards making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050 while also boosting growth, providing new and better jobs and improving people's well-being. With the European Digital Strategy, the EU announced new initiatives to make the digital transformation work for everyone while helping to achieve the EU's climate targets, and ensure that Europe maximises its full digital potential. In 2020, the EU also launched many new initiatives spanning health care, social integration and the fight against threats to European security, and has been actively engaged in achieving a Union of Equality. 2020 saw growing momentum in relations with Africa, with a new vision proposed for the future EU-Africa partnership. The EU also proposed a new EU-US agenda for global change and concluded in principle the negotiations for a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment with China. It also reached an agreement with the United Kingdom on trade and co-operation. It is available in all official languages of the EU as a fully illustrated book and in an interactive online version.

Share this article: