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Council of the European Union    19 APRIL 2018  Presidency press release after the Informal meeting of EU Ministers responsible for Energy of 19 April 2018, Sofia, Bulgaria See the attached press statement (pdf) North Korea: EU adds four persons involved in financing of nuclear programme to sanctions list The Council added four persons to the list of those subject to the restrictive measures against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). These restrictive measures consist of a travel ban and an asset freeze. The four individuals have been involved in deceptive financial practices which are suspected of contributing to the DPRK's nuclear-related, ballistic-missile-related or other weapons of mass destruction-related programmes. The EU's sanctions regime against the DPRK is its toughest on any country. These sanctions were adopted in response to the DPRK's nuclear weapon and ballistic missile development activities, which are in breach of numerous UNSC resolutions. The EU not only transposes the sanctions imposed by the UN but also has its own autonomous sanctions regime on the DPRK, which complements and reinforces the sanctions adopted by the UN. The additional listings adopted today are part of the EU's autonomous sanctions regime against the DPRK. The decision brings the total number of persons listed autonomously by the EU to 59. In addition, the EU has frozen the assets of 9 entities as part of its own sanctions regime. It has also transposed all relevant UN Security Council resolutions, which impose sanctions on 80 persons and 75 entities currently listed by the UN. EU foreign ministers discussed the situation on the Korean peninsula with the South Korean Foreign Minister, Kang Kyung-wha, on 19 March 2018, in light of the recent announcements made by the DPRK's leadership and looking ahead to the summit between Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in scheduled for April and the announced meeting between Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump. They welcomed South Korea's efforts to de-escalate tensions on the peninsula and improve intra-Korean relations, and to create the conditions needed to work towards a diplomatic solution aimed at the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. Council of the European Union      19/4/2018  Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on the situation in Venezuela Recent developments in Venezuela are causing further polarisation and are preventing progress on the multiple crises that the country is facing. The presidential elections are announced for 20 May, and will be held together with the election of the members of municipal and state assemblies. We deeply regret that elections have been convened without a wide agreement on the electoral calendar nor on the conditions for a credible and inclusive electoral process. We also regret the continued existence of political prisoners and obstacles to limit the participation of political parties and candidates. The recent decision of the National Electoral Council (CNE) to limit participation in local and regional elections to those parties that present candidates for the presidential elections is a further blow to the credibility of the process. This will only exacerbate polarisation and create more obstacles to a peaceful political solution. The European Union calls on the government to ensure free, transparent and credible elections that allow the participation of all political parties under equal conditions; a balanced composition of the CNE; an agreed and viable electoral calendar and all technical guarantees necessary for elections to conform to international standards. Such conditions are necessary to allow for full and independent international observations missions. The European Union is fully committed to supporting Venezuela to find peaceful and democratic solutions and is ready to use all its instruments to support regional and international efforts to that end. In this context, the European Union will monitor closely the electoral process and related developments on the ground and stands ready to react through appropriate measures to any decision or action that might continue to undermine democracy, the rule of law and human rights situation in the country. The European Union is also concerned and monitoring in close cooperation with the UN and other international organisations, the social impact of the ongoing economic crisis that is seriously affecting the population, including many European citizens residing in the country, and leading to the current mass migration that creates challenges to host communities, particularly Colombia and Brazil, and regional stability. As announced by Commissioner Stylianides during his  Council of the European Union      19/4/2018 Simpler use of EU funds: Council confirms deal with Parliament The EU is simplifying the rules on using money from the EU budget. On 19 April 2018, the Council’s Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) endorsed an agreement reached with the European Parliament on the so-called Omnibus regulation on EU financial rules. The regulation will amend the existing financial regulation which sets out a general framework for budget management, as well as a series of acts governing EU multiannual programmes in specific fields, including cohesion policy.  There will be simpler rules on using different types of funds, whether these are managed directly by the Commission, indirectly by various organisations and bodies, or jointly with national authorities.  "The main driver behind this reform was our wish to make life easier for those benefitting from and managing EU funds. This has been a clear request to EU lawmakers in recent years. But other benefits can be expected as well. We expect quicker implementation, with fewer costs, greater impact of policies on the ground and easier access for small beneficiaries." Marinela Petrova, Deputy Finance Minister of Bulgaria