Brussels, 15 October 2026 Our citizens expect lower energy costs, reduced costs of living, security, economic opportunities and the assurance that Europe can act effectively in an increasingly uncertain world. The EPP is the leading political family of Europe, and we continue to deliver. People can put their trust in us. Migration Faithful to our Bucharest EPP Manifesto, we are delivering concrete results. Since the start of the year, illegal border crossings at the EU's external borders have fallen by 35%, the lowest level since 2021. Several Member States are seeing their lowest asylum application numbers in years. This shows that our reforms are working, and the Migration Pact reforms, the Return Regulation and active migration diplomacy will reinforce this trend. Europe delivers. The crisis in Ceuta showed that images beat the best statistics. Preventing the external border from being overrun is a fundamental task of any government, and the current Spanish government failed at it. We consider this unacceptable. Ceuta and Melilla are Spanish cities and external borders of the European Union. Spain’s sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected without reservation. In Greece, Poland and Finland, EPP-led governments stopped mass crossings where migration was instrumentalised and weaponised. The next Spanish government led by Partido Popular will do the same. We welcome the European framework for addressing situations of mass and instrumentalised migratory pressure announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and we are committed to delivering on it. We will also address this issue in our relations with third countries through visas, trade and funding, and we will strengthen FRONTEX. We welcome the positive outcome of the Commission’s Evaluation Report on Cyprus' bid to fully join Schengen and the opening of the relevant discussion in the Council. We support the timely completion of remaining steps, as a set priority for Schengen Cycle 2026-2027.  Economic growth and competitiveness Families and businesses continue to face significant pressure from rising energy prices and an increasing cost of living. EU policies must avoid producing additional costs for energy and maximise the scope for temporary, targeted and tailored national support to households and businesses within the limits of the Economic Governance Framework, while safeguarding fiscal sustainability. We strongly support ambitious trade agreements with trusted partners. At the same time, we must stop with our naivety towards China’s unfair trade practices. The trade deficit of 360 billion euros in 2025 – amounting to 1 billion euros a day – is unsustainable and must be reversed. We support the Franco-German initiative asking the European Commission to present new instruments to reduce dependencies and supply chain concentrations and react to severe distortions of the EU internal market caused by third countries. We are losing 27,000 industrial jobs every month, and this must stop. By reversing the ban on combustion engine cars in the EU and acknowledging the role played by low carbon and renewable fuels, we are committed to protecting the principle of technological neutrality, as well as to maintaining automotive quality jobs in Europe. Furthermore, we must reform environmental regulations to regain competitiveness. The current Omnibus packages on simplification have our full support, but we must make sure that legislators at least agree on the ambitious proposals put forward by the Commission. And we need more: we call for a horizontal omnibus on permitting. Moreover, we call for an urgent push for the completion of the proposal on the 28th Regime to support all businesses, in particular start-ups and scale-ups, and for the full implementation of the “One Europe, One Market”, both on the level of ambition and on the agreed timelines. On the latter, we ask the concerned Council’s formats to speed up the process and look for ambitious compromises to strengthen competitiveness. Ukraine, neighbourhood and defence Our commitment to Ukraine remains unwavering. Kyiv continues to defend not only its sovereignty, but also Europe's security and values. As another difficult winter approaches, the EU must ensure that Ukraine receives the necessary support to withstand Russian aggression. We welcome the recent agreement to accelerate the disbursement of €45 billion under the EU’s Ukraine Support Loan. Through a renewed visa legislation, we have to limit visas issued to Russian citizens. Moreover, we call for the opening of all the remaining clusters with Ukraine, in line with the merit-based approach, by December 2026. We support concrete efforts to operationalise Article 42.7 TEU on mutual assistance to enhance coordination, intelligence sharing and more agile military mobility, as well as proposals for a European Security Council as a forum for strategic coordination and crisis response, while respecting neutrality traditions. These initiatives complement NATO and strengthen Europe's contribution to collective security. The Arctic is undergoing rapid and far-reaching transformation, with growing implications for European security and stability. We underline the importance of the region for European security and prosperity and call for stronger EU engagement and investments, as well as concrete action to protect our interests and values. Europe's Southern flank must remain a strategic priority alongside its Eastern flank, supported by adequate investment and more robust partnerships with Mediterranean countries. We call for stronger EU engagement with our Southern Neighbourhood, including enhanced cooperation on maritime security, energy resilience, migration management and the fight against organised crime and human smuggling. We offered Türkiye a constructive partnership, but we ask to respect democracy, the rule of law and good-neighbourly relations. We show our full solidarity with Greece and Cyprus in their discussions with Türkiye. We commend the efforts of the Government of Cyprus towards the resumption of meaningful negotiations and welcome the initiative of the UN Secretary General to convene an enlarged meeting with all parties involved. Stability and closer cooperation under NATO in the Eastern Mediterranean are of the utmost importance for the EU. Europe is strong. We must act with unity, determination and ambition. By securing our borders and our defence, strengthening our competitiveness and standing firmly with Ukraine, we can build a safer, stronger and more prosperous Europe for future generations.