Nearly 15% of birds in the EU are threatened with extinction, as well as 7.5% of all marine fish species in European waters, according to new reports published today by the European Commission. Green Week 2015, Europe’s biggest conference dedicated to environment policy which opens today,will look at the reasons behind these trends and ways to fight back against declining biodiversity. The three-day conference is free and open to all. All sessions are web-streamed.

Yesterday (26 May 2015) the Foreign Affairs Council adopted conclusions on a new global partnership for poverty eradication and sustainable development after 2015. International negotiations on future financing for development and a post-2015 agenda are quickly picking up pace and yesterday’s conclusions represent a strong and constructive EU contribution to the discussions.

The 24th session of the Joint Council and Ministerial Meeting of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) and the European Union (EU) was held in Doha, Qatar on 24 May 2015.

The GCC delegation was led by H.E. Khalid bin Mohamed Al-Attiyah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar as GCC rotating Presidency, and the EU delegation was led by H.E. Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the European Commission.

The new law on “undesirable” non–governmental organisations enacted by the Russian president on Saturday 23 May is a worrying step in a series of restrictions on civil society, independent media and political opposition.

I am very honored today to sign the Memorandum of Understanding and Loan Agreement with Ukraine on behalf of the European Union and the European Commission.

The Eastern Partnership, a joint undertaking of the EU and its Eastern European partners Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, has advanced in concrete terms across a range of bilateral and multilateral cooperation areas since the 2013 summit in Vilnius.

The Council established an EU naval operation to disrupt the business model of human smugglers in the Mediterranean, EUNAVFOR Med. This decision is one element of the comprehensive EU response to the migration challenge.

On this International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, the EU stands together with LGBTI people all around the world in the struggle to end discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.