European Commission Questions and answers Brussels, 30 Jul 2025 EU energy imports from the US
The US already is one of the EU’s top energy partners and, by far, the EU’s first supplier of LNG, with 55% of our LNG supply comi…
EU-US trade deal explained – energy aspects
Joint Statement by Turkish Foreign Minister H.E. Hakan Fidan and EU Commissioner for Enlargement H.E. Marta Kos Following their Meeting in Istanbul
European Commission Statement Istanbul, 28 Jul 2025 Minister Hakan Fidan and Commissioner Marta Kos met in Istanbul on July 25 to reaffirm the importance of Türkiye’s EU candidate status and its constructive role…
Remarks by Commissioner Šuica at the high-level conference on the two-state solution for Palestine
European Commission Speech New York, 28 Jul 2025 Rountable of Working Group 8: Peace Supporting Package
Excellencies,
The European Union is honoured to lead, with our Arab League partners, the work on the ‘Pea…
Statement by President von der Leyen on the deal on tariffs and trade with the United States
European Commission Statement Prestwick, 27 Jul 2025 Today’s deal creates certainty in uncertain times. It delivers stability and predictability, for citizens and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic. This is a deal between the two largest economies in the world. We trade USD 1.7 trillion per year. Together we are a market of 800 million people. And we are nearly 44% of global GDP. Just a few weeks after the NATO summit, this is the second building block, reaffirming the transatlantic partnership.
Remarks by President von der Leyen at the start of the meeting with US President Trump
European Commission Statement Turnberry, 27 Jul 2025 Dear President,
Thank you very much for inviting me here. The meeting today is about trade between the EU and US. Together we are the largest economies worldwid…
President von der Leyen visits China as the EU and China mark 50 years of diplomatic relations
European Commission News Brussels, 25 Jul 2025
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council, António Costa, attended this week the EU-China Summi…
Remarks by Commissioner McGrath at the Informal Justice and Home Affairs Council press conference
European Commission Speech Brussels, 23 Jul 2025 Good afternoon. This was our first meeting under the Danish Presidency. So, I would like to start by thanking Minister Hummelgaard for launching the Danish Pres…
Keynote Address by Commissioner Kubilius at the European Defence Night
European Commission Speech Washington, DC, 22 Jul 2025 Dear all,
I would like to start my words with some kind of self-congratulation:
I am the first European Commissioner for defence and space to visit Washington D…
Remarks by Commissioner Síkela, Šuica and Kos on the Global Europe instrument
European Commission Speech Brussels, 17 Jul 2025 Commissioner Síkela
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,
We have entered an era of growing geopolitical challenges. From climate-driven instability and global …
Fight to end AIDS: ‘This is not just a funding gap – it’s a ticking time bomb’
The 2025 Global AIDS Update released on Thursday by UNAIDS – the global body’s agency fighting AIDS and HIV infection – warns that a historic funding crisis now threatens to unravel decades of hard-won gains unless countries radically rethink how they fund and deliver HIV services.
Yet even amid these challenges, many of the most-affected countries are stepping up. Of the 60 low and middle-income nations surveyed in the report, 25 have signaled plans to increase domestic HIV budgets in 2026 – a clear sign of growing national leadership and commitment to the response.
Although promising, such efforts are not sufficient to replace the scale of international funding in countries that are heavily reliant on global donors.
Global emergency
Despite marked progress in the HIV response in 2024, this year has seen many disruptions to HIV prevention programmes and treatment services, due to abrupt funding shortfalls in Washington and other major donor capitals.
Even before the large-scale service disruptions, reported data for 2024 showed that 9.2 million people living with HIV still did not have access to life-saving treatments, contributing to 75,000 AIDS-related deaths among children in 2024.
“This is not just a funding gap – it’s a ticking time bomb,” said Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS Executive Director, as many AIDS-relief programmes are being defunded, pushing people out of critically needed care.
If US-supported HIV treatment and prevention services collapse entirely, UNAIDS estimated that an additional six million new HIV infections, and four million additional AIDS-related deaths could occur between 2025 and 2029.
Call for solidarity
Despite the grim landscape, “there is still time to transform this crisis into an opportunity,” said Ms. Byanyima, as countries and communities are stepping up to protect treatment gains.
As of December 2024, seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa had achieved the 95-95-95 targets: 95 per cent of people living with HIV know their status, 95 per cent of those are on treatment, and 95 per cent of those on treatment are virally suppressed.
While such successes must be maintained and further scaled up, the global HIV response cannot rely on domestic resources alone.
“In a time of crisis, the world must choose transformation over retreat,” said Ms. Byanyima.
“Together, we can still end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 – if we act with urgency, unity and unwavering commitment,” she added.
